The effects of acid deposition include all of the following except

• A. Increased numbers of salamanders in ponds and streams
• B. Soil acidification
• C. Metal leaching from soils
• D. Damaged statues and buildings

Answer: (A)

Acid deposition lowers pH in soils and surface water, changing chemical forms of nutrients and increasing the mobility and toxicity of metals. This acidification stresses organisms, reduces nutrient availability, and can harm amphibians during their vulnerable life stages, so it tends to decrease, not increase, salamander populations. In soils, acids cause nutrient leaching and soil health decline; in waters, they mobilize metals like aluminum that are toxic to aquatic life. Acids also chemically weather materials, damaging statues and buildings. So the effects you expect are soil acidification, metal leaching, and damage to statues and buildings; an increase in salamander numbers is not one of the typical outcomes of acid deposition.