One of the most serious impacts of acid precipitation is on forests and soils.
Great damage is done when sulphuric acid falls onto the earth as rain.
Nutrients present in the soils are washed away. Aluminium also present in the soil is freed and this toxic element can be absorbed by the roots of trees. Thus, the trees are starved to death as they are deprived of their vital nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. Not all of the sulphur dioxide is converted to sulphuric acid. In fact, a substantial amount can float into the atmosphere, move over to another area and return to the soils unconverted.