Since the beginning of the 80's, a wide-spread damage to Norway spruce has occurred, mainly characterized by the light-induced decay of chlorophyll in magnesium-deficient needles. Damage also occurs in deciduous trees, especially in beech. To clarify the causes of the damage in Northrine-Wesphalian forests, extensive investigations have been carried out, which combined experimental techniques and epidemiologically orientated surveys.

Climate change effects on forest soils will occur directly on soils or indirectly through effects on tree growth. Increases in soil temperature will cause an increase in soil respiration and decomposition and many increase rates of mineral weathering and ion exchange reactions. Forest soils represent a major sink for C and increased productivity in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide will lead to an increase in c storage in forest ecosystems. Changes in forest productivity will have significant effects on forest soils, included water use, soil moisture status and nutrient cycling.

The area of productive woodland in the UK has been increasing steadily since 1950, generally at about 20-30 thousand hectares per year. The current forest estate covers 2,1 million hectares, the annual growth in the total stored carbon in wood is 2,0 million tonnes. The annual UK output of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is 162 million tonnes.

Depending on their concentrations, air pollutants are dangerous to forests. With the exception of some industrial areas in the east, concentrations of air pollutants in Central Europe are below the damaging threshold as shown by the records of the monitoring stations.

Calcium avaiability to forests has been shown to be reduced by acidic deposition in several ways including: increased leaching from foliage, increased leaching from soils, and decreased availability from poorly buffered soils when aluminium is mobilized. Studies documented that acidic deposition has altered the growth and vigour of red spruce during the past three decades by changing calcium availability.

Deposition rates in Baden-Wuerttemberg, which are monitored by sampling grid, mostly exceed critical loads. This applies especially for nitrogen input and the deposition of total acidity. In a periodic inventory of tree nutrition on a basic grid of 4 km, regions abundant and persistent Mg and K deficiency could be identified.

There is a strong evidence to indicate that sulphates and nitrogen oxides cause increased leaching of base cations, principally calcium and magnesium from soils supporting old-growth sugar maple forest in central Canada. Sugar maple trees sequester Ca, especially in bark. A site low in exchangeable bases might become less productive, if subjected to prolonged high rates of leaching and full tree harvesting.

Experimental research on the physiology of tree seedlings under simulated climate and doubled carbon dioxide can rarely be extrapolated to grown forests. Climatological research has demonstrated a warming trend in the north and a cooling trend in the south of China. However, the changing climate has not caused the death of forests. Projecting the impact of climate change on forest distribution and growth using current GCMs seems to be the only method available.

Two modeling approaches were applied to evaluate the potential risks of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and possible climate change on the vegetation cover of the Alpine region. The first model is a stochastic forest succession simulator, the second is a static regression type model. The questions of the study were as follows: (1) Which temporal vegetation changes might occur under given carbon dioxide and climate scenarios? (2) Which region of the Alps might be most susceptible to a vegetation change?

Northern species not only tolerate but even benefit vegetatively from a slightly warmer climate than they have been adapted to. If the climatic warming remains below 5 celsius in annual mean temperature, the present forest will not be subject to direct disaster. Reproductive processes are likely to be enhanced through increased flowering and better seed maturation. There are few empirical studies on reproductive biology in new environments.