2000 report in the forest condition in Europe
The health of European forests has not improved in the past year, say the European Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) in their recently published annual report on the subject. 'There is no overall improvement of the vitality of the forests and...great regional differences in development of the situation exist. Further reduction of emissions is still needed to guarantee the multiple functions of forests in Europe as a basis for sustainable forest management,' it says. The report is published alongside the results of the organisations' 'Crown condition assessment' and of the intensive monitoring programme in European forests, providing important information for policymakers and the public on the situation of European forests. The Crown condition assessment reveals that throughout Europe, 36.3 per cent of assessed trees are classified as 'healthy', with no loss of needles and leaves. But about 41 percent are in the 'warning stage' and 20 per cent of all trees are rated 'damaged' since they appear to have lost at least 25 per cent of their leaves (through 'defoliation'). The degree of damage for all trees with more than 25 per cent defoliation stayed the same for conifer and broadleafed trees. At a regional level, clear improvement is evident for western and central European regions but the condition of forests in the Mediterranean regions is worsening with the mean (average) defoliation for all tree species increasing considerable over the last five years. No clear trends are evident in the central and northern regions in Europe. 'On average defoliation in Europe between 1992 and 1999 worsened on approximately 30 per cent of the observation plots and improved on only 15 per cent of plots,' reports the Commission. Furthermore, the first results of the recently completed Technical report 2000 'Intensive monitoring of forest systems in Europe' show that atmospheric nitrogen and sulphur deposition do affect the nutrient status and tree vitality. 'In 30 per cent of the plots the nutrient status is insufficient or unbalanced,' report the scientists. Emission reductions may have had some effect however, with sulphur deposition decreasing much more than nitrogen deposition in the last decade at most plots in European forests. But, warns the Commission, 'further reduction of emissions is still needed to guarantee the multiple functions of forests in Europe as a basis for a sustainable forest management.'