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Forest Decline and Air Pollution pp 459–468Cite as

Processes Leading to Forest Decline: A Synthesis

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Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 77))

Abstract

Recent forest decline in Central Europe has been manifested by a combination of symptoms, especially needle-yellowing and loss, and reduced stand growth. Needle damage first became apparent in the late 1970’s on Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.], the dominant coniferous tree species planted today. Decline was observed in the early 1980’s over a large forest area on several major forest species. It was the large geographic distribution of visible change in conifers and in broadleaf species, as well as the large number of opposing hypotheses on possible causes, which led to the present case study. In the mountain range of the Fichtelgebirge, most of the forests at elevations above 750 m currently display different degrees of visual decline symptoms, although some forests at lower elevations have partially recovered. At 900–1000 m elevation, a stand which 10 years earlier first displayed visual symptoms is now totally dead. In this book we analyze possible pathways which have led to the decline of forests in this area and which may explain the observed temporal symptomatic variations.

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Authors
  1. E.-D. Schulze
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  2. R. Oren
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  3. O. L. Lange
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Pflanzenökologie, der Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 8580, Bayreuth, Germany

    Ernst-Detlef Schulze

  2. Lehrstuhl für Botanik II, der Universität Würzburg, Mittlerer Dallenbergweg 64, 8700, Würzburg, Germany

    Otto L. Lange

  3. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Duke University, Durham, North Carlina, 27706, USA

    Ram Oren

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Schulze, ED., Oren, R., Lange, O.L. (1989). Processes Leading to Forest Decline: A Synthesis. In: Schulze, ED., Lange, O.L., Oren, R. (eds) Forest Decline and Air Pollution. Ecological Studies, vol 77. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61332-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61332-6_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64795-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-61332-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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