Branch rnalfonnation patterns, as presented above, may oc= within the crown of a given spruce tree in different ccrnbinations simultaneously. However, when the nost injured part of the crown is considered, only one or at nost tw:> groups (e.g. D and DR) of these patterns are represented. Usually, there appears branch -es belonging to a particular series of malfonnation pattern (Lesinski and Landmann 1988).
The estimation of crown injury type as well as group and series of branch malfonnation pattern in a given spruce enables, to sane extent, the proper re
cognition of the type of decline. Therefore, the above integrative measures of injury to Norway spruce should be applied in the forest inventory practice.
Presented paper has been made possible owing to financial support by the National SWedish Environmental Proctection Board, the SWedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research, the SWedish Forestry Mninistra
tion, the Faculty of Forestry of the SWedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Kempe Foundation.
REFERENCES
Lesinsk i, J.A. 1988. Classification of visible symptoms of crown injury in Norway spruce occurring on permanent plots. ( in print ) Lesinski, J.A. and G. Landmann. 1988. Crown
and branch malformation in coni fers relat
ed to forest decline. In: Scienti fic basis of forest decline symptomatology. Ed. J.N.
Cape and P. Mathy. Air Pollution Report Series. 15 : 92-105
Lesinski, J.A. and L. Westman. 1987. Crown injury types and their applicability for forest inventory. In: Acid rain. Scientif
ic and technical advances. Ed. R. Perry et al. 657-662. Selper Ltd. Westville Grange Westman, L. and J.A. Lesinski. 1985. Thinning out of the crown - what is hidden in that integrated measure of forest damage? In
ventorying and Monitorying Endangered For
ests. IUFRO Conf., Zurich. 22 3-228 Westman, L. and J.A. Lesinski. 1986. Kronut
glesning och andra forandringar i gran
kronan. Morfologisk beskrivning. Statens Naturvardsverk Rapport 3262
Air Pollution and Forest Decline (J .B. Bucher and I . Bucher-Wallin, eds.) .
Proc. 1 4th Int. Meeting for Specialists in Air Pollution Effects on Forest Ecosystems, IUFRO P2.0S, Interlaken, Switzerland, Oct . 2-8, 1 988 . Birmensdorf, 1 989, p. 477-479 .
A SURVEY OF THE HEALTH OF FAGUS SYLVATICA IN SOUTHERN B R I TA I N K. A. L ING , S . A . POWER , & M. R. ASHMORE
Imp e r i a l C o l l e g e of Sc i e n c e and T e c h n o l o gy , S i l wood Park , A s c o t , B e r k s . SL5 7PY. U. K.
ABSTRAC T
T h e hea l th o f 1 7 2 8 b e e c h tre e s , Fagu s s y l v a t ic a , within t h e a g e r a n ge o f 8 0 - 1 4 0 y e ar s , h a s b e e n a s s e s s e d a t 7 2 s i te s u s in g c r own de n s ity , c h l o ro s i s and a r c h i t e c ture a s the ma j or c r ite r ia. At each s i te range o f environme n t a l variab l e s have a l s o b e e n me a s ured. T h e d i f f e r e n t l e ve l s o f t r e e hea l th r e ve a l e d by the var ious a s s e s sme n t t e c hn ique s a r e p r e s e n te d , a l o n g with map s showing the ir geograp h i c a l d i s tr ibutions.
We a r e c ur r e n t l y us ing in f o r ma t ion on r e g ion a l d i s t r ibutions o f air p o l lutants and me teoro l o g i c a l par ame te r s in a mu l t i var iate ana l y s i s to s e e k r e l a t io n s h ip s b e twe e n the s e par ame te r s and tr e e h e a l th. T h e e x t e n t o f t h i s survey , and t h e inc l u s ion o f a var i e ty o f symptons o f h e a l th should a l l o w u s to gain a c l e a r e r pic ture o f how p a r t i c u l a r environme n t a l var iab l e s a r e r e l a t e d to d i f f e r e n t a spec t s o f tr e e v i t a l ity. Th i s may permit the ide n t i f i c a t ion of tho s e sympton s wh i c h a r e l ik e l y to b e o f g r e a t e s t value in future survey work o f th i s nature.
INTRODUCTION
F o l l owin g reports o f wide spread dama ge to fore s t s in c e n t r a l Europe , there h a s b e e n muc h debate ove r damage to tr e e s in B r itajn.
Having c a r r i e d out a s ur vey in 1 9 8 5 , the pre s sure group F r ie n d s o f the Earth ( U. K. ) c l a ime d that typ i c a l sympton s o f ac id r a in dama ge were wide spread amon g B r i t i sh tr e e s . T h e Fore s try C ommi s s ion , wh i c h h a s c onduc t e d annual surveys o f t r e e h e a l th s in c e 1 9 8 5 , h a s rema i n e d unconvince d and r e c e n t l y
s u gge s te d , on the b a s i s o f s u r v e y data , that a ir p o l l ution might be having a b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t i n B r i t a i n ( Inne s & B o s we l l , 1 9 8 8 ) .
I n the l i ght o f the s e c o n f l i c t in g views , we de s i gn e d our s urvey to l o ok a t one spec i e s in de ta i l , name ly b e e c h , F a g u s s y l va t ic a . T h e a ims o f th i s s u r v e y a r e a s f o l lows :
1 . To a s s e s s the overa l l s t a t e o f hea l th o f F. s y l v a t i c a within i t s n a t u r a l range in c e n t r a l and southern B r i ta i n .
2 . To inve s t i gate t h e a s s o c i a t ion b e twe en F . s y l v a t i c a h e a l th and a i r p o l l ution.
3. To provide b a s e l in e data for future mon i to ri ng studie s.
METHODS
S i te s f o r the s urvey we r e s e l e c te d p r imar i l y o n t h e b a s i s o f a g e a n d l o c a t i on.
In order to r u l e out e f f e c t s o f e x tr eme s o f age the tr e e s s tudied were ma i n l y within the range 8 0 - 1 4 0 years. The geograp h ic a l spread o f the s i te s r e f l e c t s the d i s t r ib u t ion o f F . s y l va t i c a within i t s n a t ur a l r a n ge , a s we l l a s c o v e r i n g a s many p o l l ution c l i mate s a s po s s ib l e . Many o f the woo d s a r e o f w i l d l i f e c o n s e rvation inte r e s t , e g.
n a ture r e s e rve s .
The survey wa s c a r r i e d out over two growing s e a s on s , in thr e e d i s t in c t s t a ge s : 4 0 s i te s we re a s s e s s e d in the f i r s t s umme r and a further 3 2 i n the s e c o n d s umme r . A l l 7 2 s i te s w er e s urvey e d u s in g a d i f fe r e n t t e c hn ique in t h e w i n t e r o f 1 9 8 7 / 8 8.
At a l l s urvey s i t e s a b r i e f in i t i a l a s s e s smen t o f t h e phy s ic a l nature o f the who l e area wa s made in order to de c i de upon the l o c a t ion o f the sub -p l o t s . The s e were s e l e c te d i n su c h a way a s t o r e p r e s e n t t h e var iation in environme n t a l c o n d i t i o n s w i t h i n e a c h s i t e . At e a c h o f the se f o ur sub-p l o t s s ix tr e e s were s e l e c te d , e i ther a l ong inte rna l e dge s or within natur a l gap s i n the c a n opy. N e w c l e a r i n g s , o r
a r e a s s u f f e r i n g f r om d i s turb a n c e we r e avoide d whe reve r po s s ib l e. Par t ic u l a r l y exp o s e d tr e e s o r tho s e obv i o u s l y fa l l in g o u t s ide of the a ge range were a l s o e x c l uded.
A wide range o f e n v ironme n ta l var iab l e s e g . s o i l type and pH , and s tand c har a c te r i s t i c s e g . c a n opy d e n s ity , we r e mea s u r e d a t e a c h s i t e . T h e n a t iona l p o l l ution de p o s ition n e twork and mode l s we r e u s e d to e s t imate l e ve l s o f the ma j or air p o l l u ta n t s a t each s i te ( c . f . Cottr i l l , 1 9 8 8 ) .
Tr e e h e a l th w a s r e c orded u s in g a var i e ty o f a s s e s sme n t t e c h n ique s in c l ud i n g s c o r e s f o r c r o wn t h i n n e s s , c r own a r c h i t e c t u r e and ove ra l l c h l o r o s i s . Tr e e s w e r e a s s ign e d t o o n e o f four c r own thinne s s c l a s s e s u s i n g t h e standard Europ e a n method ( In ne s , 1 9 8 7 ) . Standard photographs o f F . sylvatic a we r e u s e d t o make c ompar i s o n s be tween the d i f f e r e n t c l a s s e s ( B o s shar d , 1 9 8 6 ) . In w i n t e r , c r o wn a r c h i te c t ure wa s a s s e s s e d u s i n g a t e c hn ique deve l op e d by Ro l o f f ( 1 9 8 5 ) . I n addition , overa l l i n t e n s ity and e x te n t o f c h l o r o s i s wa s r e c o r d e d in t h e summe r u s i n g a c omb in e d s c a l e o f 0 - 3 .
RE SULTS
The overa l l r e s u l t s o f the survey are i l l u s t r a te d in tab l e 1 and show that the r e i s l it t l e d i f f e r e n c e be tween the propor t i on of tr e e s in each c a t e gory for the c rown thinne s s a n d a r c h i te c ture s c or e s.
Cate gory
0 1 2 3
Cr own Thinne s s 2 1 . 7 5 5 . 3 2 1 . 4 1 . 6 Crown A r c h i te c ture 2 0 . 8 5 1 . 4 2 3 . 4 4 . 4 Crown C h l o r o s i s 6 3 . 5 3 1 . 9 3 . 9
a . a
Tab l e 1 . Perc e n t a g e o f tr e e s in e a c h c a tegory f o r the ma j or he a l th a s s e s sme n t c r ite r ia.
The d i str ibut ion map s for the se p a r a me ter s , f i gur e s 1 & 2 , howeve r , s h o w that there a r e d i s t in c t d i f f e r e n c e s b e twe e n the r e su l t s o f the a s s e s sment techn ique s at individua l s i t e s. C r o wn a r c h i t e c ture r e s u l t s show c lu s t e r s o f s i te s with l a r ge numb e r s o f tr e e s o f r e duc e d v i t a l i ty ( c o r r e sponding t o c a te gor i e s 2 a n d 3 ) , f o r examp l e i n the C h i l t e r n s area we s t o f Lon don and a l s o in Devon in the South We s t o f Engl and. Th i s c l u s t e r i n g i s n o t s o mar k e d i n the c r own thinn e s s a s s e s sment.
F i gur e 1.
... * 41-100% 0-20% 21-40%
D i s tr ibution of tre e s in c r o wn th inne s s c a t e gor i e s 2 and 3.
From tab l e 1 i t c an b e seen tha t the inc ide n c e o f mode r a te and severe c h l or o s i s i s c ompa r a t ive ly l o w. Howeve r , the d i str ibution of c h l o r o s i s , i l l us t r a t e d in f i gure 3 i s quite d i f f e r e n t t o tha t o f the two other h e a l th c r i te r i a. On t h i s map , woods o n c h a l k or l ime s tone a r e in d i c a t e d by s o l i d symbo l s , and i t c an be s e e n that mo s t s i te s with a l a r ge proportion o f mode r a t e l y and s e ve r e ly c h l o r o t i c tr e e s o c c ur on the se c a l c a r e o u s s o i l s .
478
• 0-20%
• 21-50%
* 51-100%
F i gure 2. D i s tr ibution of tr e e s in c r o wn archite c tur e c a te gor i e s 2 and 3.
*
0-5%
6-19%
20-100%
Shaded symbols represent sites on calcareous soils
F i gure 3. D i s tr ibut ion of tr e e s in c r own chloro s i s c a t e gor i e s 2 and 3.
So far only a p r e l iminary sta t i s t i c a l a n a ly s i s o f t h e c omp l e te d a t a s e t h a s b e e n c a r r i e d out. Th i s h a s r evea l e d e v i de n c e o f s ig n i f icant r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e tween t h e v a r i o u s h e a l t h c r iteria and a g e , s o i l fac tor s and c e r ta in pol lutants. F o r e xamp l e , we have f o und chloro s i s to b e s tr o n g l y corr e la t e d w i th t h e amoun t o f f r e e c a lc ium i n t h e uppe r s o i l hor izons. S i m i l a r l y , the r e app e a r s t o
be a p o s i t ive rela t io n s h ip between c rown a r c h i tec ture s c ore ( a n index o f v i t a l ity ) and tree a ge. We are c urren t l y inve s t i g a t i n g p o s s ib le c orrela t i o n s between tree hea l th and meteo r o l o g i c a l and p o l l ut ion data.
D I SC U S S I ON
In this survey we have c oncentrated ma inly on s ites of c on servat ion in terest , where we have f o und approxima tely one quar ter of the trees to be in c a tegor ies 2 and 3 f o r the ma in a s ses smen t c r i ter ia. Trees in these c a tegor ies are c lear ly in a poor s t a te o f hea l th , though the rea s ons for th i s are s t i l l unc lear a t th i s s t a ge in our analy s i s. The survey h a s revea led that var i o u s a spec t s of tree vital i ty , a s mea s ured b y d i f feren t a s ses smen t tec hniques , do not appear to be respon ses to the same environmen t a l var iables. The res u l t s from the prel iminary data ana ly s i s suggest that tree a ge i s an important f a c tor for crown a r c h itec ture sc o res , b u t n o t f o r c r own
th innes s and c hloro s i s ones. T h i s rein forces our bel ief tha t the hea l th c r iter ia are respon ses to qu i te d i f feren t var iab les.
C h l or o s i s has been shown to be broadly rel ated to the amount o f c a l c ium in the s o i l. T h i s is a wel l known natura l phenom
enon , refer red to as l ime- induced c h l o r o s i s ( Sc h i n a s & Rowel l , 1 9 7 6 ) . However , there are a few s ites where c h l or o s i s wa s seen on trees growing in s o i l s o ver s ub s tr a tes other than c h a l k or l imes tone. These may be muc h more interes t in g , and we intend to c a r r y out a deta i led c hem ic a l ana ly s i s o f lea f ma ter i a l c o l lec ted a t these s i tes.
We are c urrently l o o k i n g into the
u se o f mul t ivar iate and ordinat ion tec hn iques for a more c omp lete ana ly s i s o f the res u l t s obta ined f r om t h i s survey.
SUMMARY
1. F o l lowing repor t s of widespread dama ge to fores t s in central Europe , there h a s been muc h deb a te over whether a s im i l a r prob lem ex i s t s in Grea t B r i ta in.
2. T h i s survey wa s set up to look in det a i l at the s ta te o f hea l th o f F agus syl vatic a throughout its natural r a n ge in Br ita in , and to inve s t i ga te any a s s o c i a t i o n s with air p o l l u t i on.
3. 1 7 2 8 trees between the a ges of 80 and 140 year s , on 7 2 s ites o f n a ture c on servation in teres t , have been surveyed u s in g a number of hea l th a s se s smen t tec hn iques.
4. Environmenta l var iables and s tand
c h a r a c ter i s t ic s , along with p o l lutant level s , are bein g u sed in the data a n a ly s i s.
5. Approx imately 2 5 % o f a l l trees surveyed s howed moderately or severely reduced hea l th when a s ses sed f o r c rown th innes s and c r own a r c h i tec ture . Inc iden c e of over a l l c h l o r o s i s wa s f ound t o b e c omp a r a t ively l ow.
6. The geo grap h ic a l d i s tr ibution shown by the d i f feren t a s ses smen t tec hn iques var ies , s u g ges t i n g tha t they are ref lec t i n g
respon ses to d i f feren t env i r onmen ta l var
iab les.
7. Prel iminary data analy s i s sugges t s rel a t i o n s h i p s between a ge a n d c r own a r c h i tec ture s c o re , a n d between c h l o ro s i s a n d free c a l c ium in the s o i l.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Th i s resea r c h is f inanced j o in t l y by the Na ture C on servancy Counc i l and the F orestry C ommi s s ion.
REFERENC E S
B o s shar d , w. ( Ed. ) ( 1 9 8 6 ) Sana s i lva.
Feder a l I n s t i tute for Fores t Resea r c h , B ierman s do r f. pp 9 8.
Cottr i l l , S. M. ( 1 9 8 8 ) Spa t i a l Di str ibution o f Wet and Dry S u lphur Depo s i tion in the Un i ted Kin gdom. In : A i r P o l lut ion a n d E c o s y s tems. Ed. Ma thy , P . p p 4 9 3 - 4 9 8 D. Reidel , Dor drec h t.
Innes , J. L. ( 1 9 8 7 ) The In terpretation o f International F o r e s t Hea l t h Data. In : A c i d Rain : S c ien t i f ic and Tec hn i c a l Advances. Ed. Perry et � - p p 6 3 3 - 6 4 0 Selper Pres s , Lon don.
Innes , J. L. and B o s wel l , R. L. ( 1 9 8 8 ) Fores t Hea l th Survey s 1 9 8 7. P a r t 2 : Ana l y s i s a n d In terpretation. F. C. B u l let in 7 9 HMSO , London.
Ro l o f f , A. ( 1 9 8 5 ) Schadstufen bei der Buc he.
F o r s t - und H o l z wirt , 5 , pp 1 3 1 - 1 3 4.
S c h ina s , s. and Rowel l , D. L. ( 1 9 7 7 ) L ime Induced C h l or o s i s. J. S o i l Sc ien c e , 2 8 , pp 3 5 1 - 3 6 8.