Long-term changes of water acidity in an intact forested watershed in south China

Acid rain is a global environmental issue and causes serious adverse impacts on natural ecosystems and human health. The acid rain and its subsequent impacts have been extensively studied in temperate regions and in big cities globally, but the monitoring of acid rain in non-urban areas in subtropical region is still limited. Here, we analyze 18 years of water acidity observations from a non-urban site in western Pearl River Delta region, south China. From 2000 to 2018, annual mean precipitation pH values in the study site showed a marked increase ( P