Acid rain can affect trees in several different ways. It can dissolve and remove minerals and nutrients from the soil. These factors present in the soil help trees grow and are very important. Acid rain also causes hazardous substances like aluminum to be released into the ground. Photosynthesis is also affected due to the protective waxy layer of the leaves being damaged. A combination of these effects weakens trees, meaning they can be more easily attacked by diseases and insects or injured by bad weather. Trees aren't the only ones affected by acid rain: other plants can also suffer. The consequences of acid rain are most evident in aquatic habitats. As the acidity of lakes increases, the water becomes clearer and the life of fish and other aquatic animals decreases. Water acidity not only directly affects species, it also causes toxic substances like aluminum from the soil to be released into the water, which are harmful to fish and other aquatic animals. Lakes, rivers and marshes each have their own fragile ecosystem with many different species of plants and animals that depend on each other to survive. If a species of fish disappears, the animals that feed on it will also gradually disappear. If the extinct fish was feeding on a particular species of large insect, that insect population will begin to grow, which in turn will affect the smaller insects or plankton that the larger insect feeds on.