Abstract
Forest soils were collected from various sites adjacent to the heavy industrial complexes and soil solutions were extracted to characterize the chemical properties and to find factors affecting forest decline by acid deposition. Concentrations of $NO_3{^-}$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $F^-$ and Al in the soil solutions collected from industrial complexes were 2-33 times higher than those from the non-industrial areas. pH and Al concentrations were significantly correlated with $NO_3{^-}$ and $SO{_4}^{2-}$ concentrations. Forest soils from Onsan and Ulsan regions had very low Ca and Mg concentrations in the soil solutions. In these sites, the molar ratios of Ca/Al and Mg/Al were also lower than 2 and 1, respectively. Aluminum concentrations in the A and B horizons were 547 and $683mg\;kg^{-1}$, respectively, which were considered to be high enough to inhibit tree growth. Magnesium deficiency in A horizon and high concentrations of Al and Mn in B horizon were considered as the major limiting factors for tree growth by inhibiting the uptake of Ca and Mg and causing the imbalance of nutrients in both soil solution and trees.
