Explain how burning fossil fuels can lead to damage to trees and other plants.

Burning fossil fuels releases sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. These gases dissolve in water vapour and form sulphuric and nitric acids, which fall as acid rain. When acid rain contacts leaves it dissolves the waxy cuticle and damages the leaf tissue, reducing photosynthesis and sometimes killing the leaf. The acid also leaches essential minerals from the soil, lowering the pH and making nutrients unavailable to the plant; this can damage roots and further inhibit growth.