Abstract
Spruce forests of the southern, mountainous region of Poland are amongst the most endangered in Europe. The study presents the dynamics of defoliation in 80–200-year-old stands in the Sudety and the Carpathian mountains during the period 1989–1999. Defoliation was assessed in 5-year intervals, using the following scale, based on the percentage of lost foliage: 0—up to 10%, 1—from 11 to 25%, 2—from 26 to 60%, 3—from 61 to 99% and 4—100% (dead). Analysis of the relations between defoliation and: stand age, elevation, aspect, SO 2 and NO x emission, temperature, precipitation and hydrothermic index, was performed. It was found that the defoliation of the investigated spruce stands is progressing dramatically, while the pollution of SO 2 and NO x has been declining since 1989, and while generally, the forests across Poland are showing a recovery since 1995. It seems that the accumulation of pollutants, the exhaustion of self-regulation capacity of older trees and the destabilization of sensitive spruce ecosystems are the reasons.
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