| Summary: | Acid rain deposition (AR) has long-lasting implications for the community stability and biodiversity conservation in southwest China. <i>Acer catalpifolium</i> is a critically endangered species in the rain zone of Western China where AR occurs frequently. To understand the effects of AR on the morphology and physiology of <i>A. catalpifolium</i>, we conducted an acid stress simulation experiment for 1.5 years. The morphological, physiological, and photosynthetic responses of <i>A. catalpifolium</i> to the acidity, composition, and deposition pattern of acid stress was observed. The results showed that simulated acid stress can promote the growth of <i>A. catalpifolium</i> via the soil application mode. The growth improvement of <i>A. catalpifolium</i> under nitric-balanced acid rain via the soil application mode was greater than that of sulfuric-dominated acid rain via the soil application mode. On the contrary, the growth of <i>A. catalpifolium</i> was significantly inhibited by acid stress and the inhibition increased with the acidity of acid stress applied via leaf spraying. The inhibitory impacts of nitric-balanced acid rain via the leaf spraying of <i>A. catalpifolium</i> were greater than that of sulfur-dominant acid rain via leaf spraying. The observations presented in this work can be utilized for considering potential population restoration plans for <i>A. catalpifolium</i>, as well as the forests in southwest China.
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