SO2 air pollution and forest health status in Northwestern Czech Republic

The Northwestern part of the Czech Republic is known as highly polluted area. Trends in SO2 concentrations, temperature and precipitation were compared with defoliation and vitality data obtained from satellite imagery and monitoring plots in three regions: Ore Mts., Sokolov Basin, Slavský Les. Conifer defoliation in the Ore Mountains exhibited significant correlation with winter SO2 concentrations and winter temperatures. In both the Sokolov Basin and the Slavský Les the deciduous stand vitality was only significantly linked with summer temperatures. Results show a decline in the overall importance of SO2 as the main determination of forest health at least in nineties.