What Are the Effects of Acid Rain on Ivy?

Life Processes

• Ivy plants complete life processes each day as they grow, produce and mature. These processes create cells, produce energy and even make food to nourish the plant. Photosynthesis is one of these processes. When acid rain falls on ivy plants, it affects the proteins inside the plant, destabilizing them and making them less effective. Photosynthesis uses proteins along with sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to nourish and energize the plant. When acid rain destabilizes the proteins, photosynthesis is interrupted and also becomes less effective. The overall health of the plant suffers.

Soil Quality

• Ivy, like all plants, uses its roots to absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil surrounding it. Acid rain neutralizes and removes essential nutrients from the soil it saturates. This means that nutrients that were once available to the plants are no longer available or are less available once acid rain touches the soil. A lack of essential nutrients means less food and energy is created by the plant. Again, overall plant health is negatively affected.

Pests and Disease

• Depending on the type of ivy, certain pests and disease are noted to afflict the plant. Some pests common to ivy are spider mites, aphids and scale. Diseases common to ivy include bacterial leaf spot and canker. Once acid rain makes an ivy plant less stable by interfering with life processes, the plants become more susceptible to both pests and disease. Furthermore, in its weakened state, ivy is less able to overcome pest and disease attacks. This often means the eventual death of the ivy plant, when an otherwise healthy plant may have been able to bounce back from the effects of pests or disease.

Environmental Tolerance

• While ivy is tolerant of less than ideal growing environments, one thing ivy does not often tolerate is cold, damp weather. Ivy loves moisture when soil is well-drained and temperatures are moderate, but standing water and cold, winter wetting is bad for ivy. A cool, damp climate often induces bacterial disease, wilt and even die off of the plant. Acid rain makes ivy plants even less tolerant of cold and damp weather, destabilizing them and making them unhealthy.