AIR POLLUTION CUTS HELP FORESTS RECOVER

AIR POLLUTION CUTS HELP FORESTS RECOVER

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 2 September (UNECE) -- The latest report on forest condition in Europe indicates that drastic reductions in sulphur emissions have led to decreasing concentrations of sulphur in the needles of Norway spruce and Scots pine (see graph below).

Model calculations predict that the current and planned further cuts in sulphur and nitrogen emissions will also result in a fast recovery of many soils.  For these, sulphate concentrations in soil solution will remain at the low levels already reached in 2000, while nitrate concentrations will decrease in most areas by 2010.  Better soil quality will further improve the health of trees and of forest ecosystems generally.

These are some of the conclusions of the latest report on forest condition in Europe presented by one of the world’s largest forest monitoring programmes.  Under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the programme is based on about 7,000 observation plots across 36 European countries and has monitored forest condition since 1986.

After 15 years of deteriorating tree crowns, the report presents encouraging results, but its authors warn against premature enthusiasm.  Although soil solution is recovering, the solid phase of the forest soils will take considerably longer to recover, probably decades.  Also, in addition to the effects of air pollution via the soil, the programme stresses the increasing importance of the effects of ozone gas on needles and leaves.

Scientists under the Convention’s programme are well aware of the need for further cuts in air pollutants to address the remaining air pollution problems, including those of human health.  They are continuing to collect information on the environment and develop predictive models to demonstrate to policy makers how much more needs to be done.

Scientific evidence of air pollution effects on vegetation, freshwaters, materials and human health has been the driving force of air pollution abatement policies under the Convention since its adoption in 1979.  It has led to seven legally binding Protocols setting national emission targets for virtually all major air pollutants.  The increasingly strict limits of these targets have been mirrored by decreasing pollution levels across Europe.  Further steps will produce greater benefits for the environment.

Even so, much of the drop in emissions in the countries of the former Soviet Union is the result of lower production levels.  The work under the Convention, therefore, has to put more emphasis on the introduction of less polluting technology in these countries.

The monitoring programme plans to continue to contribute to the scientific basis for air pollution control, but it will also provide important information on other processes relevant to international environmental policies, for example, biodiversity, climate change and sustainable forest management.

For more information on the report, please contact:

Keith Bull, UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division, Palais des Nations, Office 346, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; phone:  + 41 (0)22 917 23 54; fax:  + 41 (0)22 907 01 07 or 917 96 21; e-mail:  keith.bull@unece.org; or

Thomas Haubmann, Chairman, ICP Forests, Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, Rochusstr.1, D - 53123 Bonn, Germany; phone:  + 49 228 529 43 21; fax:  + 49 228 529 43 18; e-mail: thomas.haussmann@bmvel.bund.de; or:

Martin Lorenz, Programme Coordinating Centre, Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products, Leuschnerstr. 91, D - 21031 Hamburg, Germany;  phone:  + 49 40 739 26 119; fax:  + 49 40 739 62 480; e-mail:  lorenz@holz.uni-hamburg.de

Proportion of stands with foliar sulphur concentrations above 1.1 mg S.g^-1 in Finland and Austria.

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