Report on Forest Condition in Europe - 1997
The European Commission has published the 1997 Report on Forest Condition in Europe, which documents for the first time forest condition at European level. The report gives evidence of a decrease in forest vitality in the past year, although this is less than in previous years. The report is based on the 1996 crown condition survey and recent surveys on soil conditions and the nutritional status of forest trees. This is backed up by intensive monitoring of forest ecosystems in around 850 observation sites. The survey covers the 15 EU Member States as well as 14 other European countries. The survey shows that needle/leaf loss in the tree crowns observed has increased further since 1996. This deterioration is evident in almost all climatic regions and among most species. In particular, broad-leaved species give cause for concern, with less than 50% of the sample trees considered as undamaged. The survey also shows that forest soils have extremely high acid content in 42% of the observation points. The Commission established a programme for the intensive monitoring of forest ecosystems in 1994. A total of 501 monitoring points are now in place, and the first sets of data were submitted to the Commission at the end of 1996. Detailed examination of this is now underway. The monitoring programme aims to increase understanding of the impact of air pollutants and other damaging factors on forest ecosystems.