Forest decline became a matter of public and scientific concern in France in 1983 when conifers in the Vosges mountains were found to exhibit unusual crown deterioration. An impassioned controversy on a supposedly large scale forest health problem was then in full swing in Central Europe. A co-ordinated research programme entitled DEFORPA ("Deperissement des For~ts et Pollution AtmospMrique") was launched in 1984. This programme ran from 1984 to 1991 and a number of projects are still in progress. The Programme was sponsored by three French ministries (Enviroument, Agriculture and Forestry, Research and Technologyl), several state agencies, various regional authorities and the Commission of the European Communities (DO xn and DG VI). Initially, emphasis was solely laid on the understanding of forest decline in the mountainous areas - because damage was most obvious there - in relation to natural and man-made factors. Air pollution was given high but not overwhelming priority. Thus, the DEFORPA Programme was not in its essence a nation-wide assessment of air pollution effects, unlike a number of national acidification research programmes in Europe and North America. During. the programme, however, the areas of concern expanded. In particular, research into water acidification in the Vosges mountains was developed in parallel with the DEFORPA Programme, and possible eutrophication of the ground flora in northeastern France became the subject of new research.

1: Forest Health and Productivity: Temporal Trends, Relation to Climate, Site and Stand Factors.- 1.1 Ground Monitoring of Crown Condition of Forest Trees in the French Mountains.- 1.1.1 Introduction.- 1.1.2 Brief Description of the French Mountainous Massifs.- 1.1.3 Methodology of the Surveys.- 1.1.3.1 Distribution of Observation Plots.- 1.1.3.2 Assessment Procedures, Training and Quality Assurance.- 1.1.4 Reliability of Observations: Results of a Calibration Exercise.- 1.1.4.1 Methodology and Data Processing.- 1.1.4.2 Main Results and Interpretation.- 1.1.5 Evolution of the Crown Condition of Four Important Mountainous Species.- 1.1.5.1 Silver Fir.- 1.1.5.2 Norway Spruce.- 1.1.5.3 Scots Pine.- 1.1.5.4 Beech.- 1.1.6 General Discussion.- 1.1.6.1 Representativeness of the Survey.- 1.1.6.2 Reliability of Observations.- 1.1.6.3 Comparability with Monitoring Data from Other Countries.- 1.1.6.4 Limitations of Crown Condition as a Health Indicator.- 1.1.6.5 Tentative Interpretation of Recent Changes in Crown Condition: Role of Climate and Unknown Factors.- 1.1.6.6 Recent Versus Historical Declines.- 1.1.7 Summary and Conclusions.- 1.1.8 References.- 1.2 Crown Damage in Norway Spruce and Silver Fir: Relation to Nutritional Status and Soil Chemical Characteristics in the French Mountains.- 1.2.1 Introduction.- 1.2.2 Mineral Nutrition and Forest Condition in the Vosges Mountains.- 1.2.2.1 Deficiency Symptoms and their Time Course.- 1.2.2.2 Regional Survey of Mineral Nutrition.- 1.2.2.3 Medium-Term Evolution of Mineral Nutrition in a Mature Silver Fir Stand.- 1.2.3 Mineral Nutrition and Forest Condition in the Jura.- 1.2.3.1 Deficiency Symptoms and their Time Course.- 1.2.3.2 Regional Survey of Mineral Nutrition.- 1.2.4 Mineral Nutrition and Forest Condition in the Northern Alps.- 1.2.4.1 Deficiency Symptoms and their Time Course.- 1.2.4.2 Regional Survey of Mineral Nutrition.- 1.2.5 Mineral Nutrition and Forest Condition in the Massif Central.- 1.2.5.1 Deficiency Symptoms and their Time Course.- 1.2.5.2 Regional Survey of Mineral Nutrition.- 1.2.5.3 Medium-Term Evolution of Ca, Mg and K Nutrition of Norway Spruce.- 1.2.6 Mineral Nutrition and Forest Condition in the Pyrenees.- 1.2.6.1 Deficiency Symptoms and their Time Course.- 1.2.6.2 Regional Survey of Mineral Nutrition.- 1.2.7 Discussion.- 1.2.7.1 Consistency between General Soil Characteristics and Nutrient Deficiencies.- 1.2.7.2 Deficiency Symptoms: Cause of Damage or Secondary Symptoms?.- 1.2.7.3 Nutrient Deficiency and Crown Damage.- 1.2.7.4 Natural Fluctuations of Nutritional Deficiencies and the Definition of Threshold Values for Visible Symptoms.- 1.2.9 Summary and Conclusions.- 1.2.9 References.- 1.3 Crown Damage in Norway Spruce and Silver Fir: Relation to Site and Stand Factors in the French Mountains.- 1.3.1 Introduction.- 1.3.2 Crown Damage in Relation to Site and Stand Factors in the Vosges Mountains.- 1.3.2.1 Regional Field Survey of Fir Condition (1984).- 1.3.2.2 Regional Remote Sensing Survey of Fir and Spruce Condition (1985).- 1.3.2.3 Local Remote Sensing Survey of Fir and Spruce Condition (1990).- 1.3.2.4 Detailed Field Survey of Fir Condition (1987).- 1.3.2.5 Further Findings.- 1.3.2.6 Diagnosis.- 1.3.3 Crown Damage in Relation to Site and Stand Factorst in he Jura.- 1.3.3.1 Regional Field Survey of Fir Condition (1989).- 1.3.3.2 Diagnosis.- 1.3.4 Crown Damage in Relation to Site Condition in the Northern Alps.- 1.3.4.1 Regional Field Survey of Fir and Spruce Condition (1987).- 1.3.4.2 Diagnosis.- 1.3.5 Further Evidence from Other Mountainous Regions.- 1.3.6 Discussion.- 1.3.6.1 Methodological Aspects of Field Surveys of Forest Damage.- 1.3.6.2 Influence of Site and Stand Factors on Crown Condition in the French Mountains: Ecological Interpretation.- 1.3.6.3 Influence of Site and Stand Factors on Crown Condition Elsewhere in Europe.- 1.3.6.4 Influence of Site and Stand Factors on Crown Condition: Historical Versus Current Views.- 1.3.6.5 Role of Air Pollution, Correlation and Plausibility of Mechanisms.- 1.3.7 Summary and Conclusions.- 1.3.8 References.- 1.4 Growth and Decline Symptoms of Silver Fir and Norway Spruce in Northeastern France: Relation to Climate, Nutrition and Silviculture.- 1.4.1 Introduction.- 1.4.2 Material and Methods.- 1.4.3 Role of Climate in Health and Radial Growth of Silver Fir.- 1.4.3.1 Growth Depressions during the 20th Century.- 1.4.3.2 Importance of Climatic Factors to Radial Growth.- 1.4.4 Stand Dynamics and Defoliation.- 1.4.4.1 Relationships between Defoliation and Radial Growth.- 1.4.4.2 Role of Past Silvicultural Conditions in Present Silver Fir Decline.- 1.4.5 Stand Dynamics and Foliage Yellowing.- 1.4.5.1 Yellowing of Mature Silver Fir Trees.- 1.4.5.2 Yellowing of Mature Norway Spruce Trees.- 1.4.5.3 Yellowing and Height Growth of Young Spruce and Fir Trees.- 1.4.6 Summary and Conclusions.- 1.4.7 References.- 1.5 Long-term Changes in Forest Productivity in Northeastern France: the Dendroecological Approach.- 1.5.1 Introduction.- 1.5.2 Methods.- 1.5.2.1 Standardization from the Regional Mean Relation Between Radial Growth and Cambial Age.- 1.5.2.2 Method Known as "at Constant Cambial Age".- 1.5.2.3 Analysis of Variance of a Bilinear Model.- 1.5.3 Long-term Radial Growth Trends in Various Coniferous and Broadleaved Trees in Northeastern France.- 1.5.3.1 Tree Species and Regions Studied.- 1.5.3.2 Results.- 1.5.4 Discussion and Conclusions.- 1.5.5 References.- 1.6 Medium-Term Evolution of Forest Productivity in the French Mountains: The Use of National Forest Inventory Data.- 1.6.1 Introduction.- 1.6.2 Methodological Problems.- 1.6.2.1 Specific Problems due to IFN Methods.- 1.6.2.2 Problems Related to the Complexity of Forest Dynamics.- 1.6.3 Evolution of Four Major Species in the French Mountains over the Last Two Decades.- 1.6.3.1 Methods.- 1.6.3.2 Changes in Forest Productivity.- 1.6.4 Discussion.- 1.6.5 References.- 2: Atmospheric Deposition in France;.- 2 Atmospheric Deposition in France and Possible Relation with Forest Decline.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Material and Methods.- 2.3 Wet and Bulk Deposition.- 2.3.1 Acidity.- 2.3.2 Deposition.- 2.3.3 Historical Changes in Emissions.- 2.3.4 Historical Changes in Precipitation Chemistry.- 2.3.5 Variation in the Chemical Composition of Precipitation in Relation to the Composition of the Atmosphere.- 2.3.6 Variation of the Chemical Composition of Precipitation in Relation to its Geographical Origin.- 2.3.7 Variation i…