A detailed analysis of acidification effects on forest soil, rhizosphere and plant life and on the processes connecting them such as nutrient uptake and mineral cycling. Presents findings from the Solling project, an important long-term study on acid rain results in Germany's Black Forest, as well as other European forests which have experienced severe acid rain damage as a means of evaluating and predicting similar harm to U.S. forests.

During the last decade, forest decline has become increasingly apparent. The decline in forest health was often reported to be associated with air pollution. The present study on Norway spruce stands in the Fichtelgebirge analyses various processes interacting within forest ecosystems. It covers transport and deposition of air pollutants, the direct effects of pollutants on above-ground plant parts, the responses of soil to acid rain, and the changing nutrient availability, and the accompanying effects on plant metabolism and growth. The role of fungi, microorganisms and soil animals in the decline of these stands is also assessed. The volume is concluded with a synthesis evaluation of the influence of different factors, and their interactions on forest decline.

This series is dedicated to serving the growing community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the principles and applications of environmental management. Each volume will be a thorough treatment of a specific topic of importance for proper management practices. A fundamental objective of these books is to help the reader discern and implement human's stewardship of our environment and the world's renewable resources. For we must strive to understand the relationship between humankind and nature, act to bring harmony to it, and nurture an environment that is both stable and productive. These objectives have often eluded us because the pursuit of other individual and societal goals has diverted us from a course of living in balance with the environment. At times, therefore, the environmental manager may have to exert restrictive control, which is usually best applied to humans, not nature. Attempts to alter or harness nature have often failed or backfired, as exemplified by the results of imprudent use of herbicides, fertilizers, water, and other agents. Each book in this series will shed light on the fundamental and applied aspects of environmental management. It is hoped that each will help solve a practical and serious environmental problem.

This book traces centuries of human use and abuse of forest ecosystems by discussing past decades of intense burning, grazing, and timber cutting that added to the natural acidification of the soil. Air pollutants and acids generated by industrial activities worldwide are also considered. Many forests in Europe and North America now receive as much as 30 times more acidity than they would if rain or snow were falling through a pristine atmosphere; ozone levels in many rural areas of Europe and North America are now regularly in the range known to damage trees. The book is organized into six sections, an introduction and bibliography of cited references. Major topic areas discussed include: (1) signs of forest destruction worldwide; (2) pathways of pollution that in most cases are traced back to sulfur and nitrogen oxides emitted during the burning of fossil fuels; (3) economic and ecological reality of forest destruction; (4) controlling emissions through requirements for effective technology; (5) international cooperation as an essential factor in controlling a wholesale continental pollution trade; and (6) the emerging realization of the potential economic and ecological consequences of acid rain and air pollution. (BC)