It was performed the study of the humus forms, quantity and pedochemical characteristics, further the study of plantation growth, and the dynamics in the period of 1994-1999. Negative impacts of the bulldozing were documented, acidification in the period 1994-1999 and the ameliorative role of the birch stand as well

Coastal forest decline due to seasprays has been reported from all continents, both on broadleaves and conifers. The main cause has been identified in the presence of surfactants. Sea winds transport these substances to the leaves, where they are absorbed via cuticula and stomata producing indirect and also direct damage. The scope of this work is the macroscopic and microscopic assessment of the long term effects of polluted seasprays on Aleppo pines in natural conditions from the Saler coastline (Eastern Spain) inwards. Surfactants may be involved in the damage to Aleppo pine in El Saler as more severe episodes of damage have been observed in the last decade

Investigations on the bacterial communities associated to ectomycorrhized roots of seedlings from three stands with different degrees of regeneration decline (high, intermediate and low) and from seedlings grown on monoliths obtained from the very same stands have been carried out. The results suggest that forest decline does not influence bacterial biomass associated to seedlings roots but induce a clustering of specific bacterial species adapted to the different degree of forest decline

Phenotypical differentiation between and within populations was observed. During the last decade, vitality decreased for both species in the observation plots in accordance with the general trend in Germany. Differences between the species were detected for single symptomatic traits like bark necroses. The genetic analyses with isozyme markers as well as cpDNA haplotypes resulted in remarkable differences between species

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research is presently being used in several projects on air pollution studies supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Plenipotentiaries of the country members of JINR. They involve moss and lichen biomonitoring techniques and GIS technology for constructing geographical maps of atmospheric deposition patterns of key heavy metals and a number of additional elements. Multi-element INAA is considered to be a reference analytical technique providing most reliable results for the bulk elemental content due to the non-destructive way of sample preparation for analysis

Results on germination, growth and mortality of Norway spruce seedlings during period 1994-2000 in various types of soil cover were summarized and evaluated. The years 1992 and 1995 were recorded as high seed production years, while the year 2000 is considered as the low seed production year. In 1999 natural seedlings from various soil covers were examined for lateral root and root tip development. The results of germination and surviving of Norway spruce seedlings are discussed in relationship with the stage of the decline of Norway spruce ecosystems

This case study confirms the role of air pollution impact on forest susceptibility to other abiotic and biotic detrimental factors. It is however very important to take into account numerous contributing factors in order to interpret or predict the degree of damage correctly

The central mountainous area of Japan is affected by air pollutant emissions from nearby countries such as China and Korea. Sharp increases in the consumption of fossil fuels in the early 21st century, associated with rapid industrialization in China, resulted in long-range transport of pollutants from East Asia and increases in the harmful effects of pollution. However, the air pollutants emissions have decreased since 2006, when air pollution countermeasures were implemented in China. Furthermore, climatic patterns during 2008–2013 reduced tropospheric ozone concentrations around Japan. Such major changes in the social and climatic environment may have had a significant impact on forests. To investigate this, long-term forest monitoring data obtained at Buna-daira (1190 m a.s.l.), Buna-zaka (1090 m a.s.l.) and Arimine (1350 m a.s.l.) were analyzed. Buna-daira and Buna-zaka forests face the continental side of Mt. Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture. In both stands, the girth growth rate of Fagus crenata was found to have increased after 2008; however, such a tendency was not detected at Arimine, which is surrounded by mountains. The growth rates of Cryptomeria japonica, a conifer resistant to air pollution, were found to remain unchanged or decrease. Here, regional long-range transport of air pollution (including ozone and sulfur oxide) has been demonstrated to influence mountain forests in Japan. In particular, recent decreases in regional air pollution may be an important factor controlling increases in F. crenata, likely through changes in interspecific relationships between species sensitive to and tolerant of air pollution.

Tree-ring width of Picea abies was studied along an altitudinal gradient in the Harz Mountains, Germany, in an area heavily affected by SO₂-related forest decline in the second half of the 20th century. Spruce trees of exposed high-elevation forests had earlier been shown to have reduced radial growth at high atmospheric SO₂ levels. After the recent reduction of the SO₂ load due to clean air acts, we tested the hypothesis that stem growth recovered rapidly from the SO₂ impact. Our results from two formerly damaged high-elevation spruce stands support this hypothesis suggesting that the former SO₂-related spruce decline was primarily due to foliar damage and not to soil acidification, as the deacidification of the (still acidic) soil would cause a slow growth response. Increasing temperatures and deposited N accumulated in the topsoil are likely additional growth-promoting factors of spruce at high elevations after the shortfall of SO₂ pollution.

45 sites were selected and sampled on the transects and according to the first results of the spatial analysis, 15 more sites were added where useful for the optimal interpolation. Topsoils were sampled including both the soil organic horizons and the more superficial mineral horizon, frequently E, if reached. The depth of the organic horizons, the grass cover, ranked by its hydrophilic character, related to the incipient hydromorphy visible where Norway spruce is more declining, and the Norway spruce health status were systematically recorded