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Acid Sensitive Adirondacks

Ecoregion in Adirondack Park, Adirondack Mountains in NY

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The Acid Sensitive Adirondacks ecoregion is located in the high precipitation zone of the western Adirondacks where precipitation ranges from 45 to over 60 inches per year. Rain and snow, arriving from the west and southwest, bring with them acidic emissions from industry and power plants. Because the bedrock underlying this area has a low acid neutralizing capacity, acid precipitation has reduced the pH of the naturally acidic waterbodies in the region to harmful levels. As a result, fishless lakes are prevalent in the southwestern Adirondacks. Depth to bedrock and depth to the water table influence the distribution of tree species able to grow in the overlying soils: conifers grow on shallow soils and soils overlying a high water table while northern hardwoods grow in deeper, fine-textured, well-drained soils.

— EPA

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