This book focuses on the recent decline of red spruce and the role of acid rain and associated air pollutants in this decline. The purpose of the book is to summarize a large body of recent research on this important environmental issue. The book is divided into three sections: section one summarizes the features of spruce-fir forests in the eastern U.S. and examines the ecology of the forests, their soils, and the atmospheric conditions experienced by these forests. Section two looks at experimental results from many air pollution studies and evaluates mechanisms of air pollution effects on red spruce trees. Section three synthesizes the current state of knowledge regarding the widespread red spruce decline in forests of the eastern United States.

Ecology and decline of red spruce in the eastern United States.

The large numbers of dead and declining red spruce at high-elevation sites throughout the Adirondacks and northern Appalachians and of Fraser fir in the southern Appalachians in the late 1970s and early 1980s raised public and scientific concern about the future of mountain spruce-fir forests. Coincident with these observations were reports from Germany of regional-scale forest decline that was attributed to gaseous air pollutants and acidic deposition. Public concern was further stimulated because these high-elevation spruce-fir forests receive millions of visitors annually due to their recreational and esthetic appeal. These concerns over forest health carried important implications for policymakers responsible for establishing air quality standards designed to safeguard natural resources.

Synthesis and Conclusions from Epidemiological and Mechanistic Studies of Red Spruce Decline

Over the past several years, substantial and widespread changes in condition and mortality of red spruce have been observed in high-elevation forests of the northeastern United States. Since trees are long-lived organisms, they possess the potential to express cumulative, long-term impacts from environmental stresses, the effects of which may be too subtle to detect in any single year. These effects may be expressed initially as modifications in the physiology, nutrition, or growth of individual trees and subsequently as changes at the stand, community, and ecosystem levels of organization. Forests in the Northeast are exposed to many different biotic, and abiotic stress factors, including two principal airborne pollutants, ozone and acidic precipitation. These two pollutants are widespread in occurrence and have the potential, both individually and collectively, to have an impact on forest trees. The roles of many of these natural and airborne chemical stress agents in the decline of red spruce were unknown at the onset of the North American Forest Response Program in 1985.

The Effects of Atmospheric Deposition and Ozone on Carbon Allocation and Associated Physiological Processes in Red Spruce

During the past decade, forest declines have become an important component of the valuation system by which society has weighed the costs of regional scale environmental pollution. The deterioration of health of some forest species across widespread geographical areas has occurred concurrently with significant increases in atmospheric pollution in both the U.S.A. (McLaughlin, 1985) and in Europe (Prinz, 1987). These trends have led to intensive research programmes aimed at determining both the specific causes and consequences of forest declines. While there are still many unanswered questions about the roles that gaseous pollutants and acidic deposition play in influencing forest health, a substantial amount has also been learned during the past decade about the processes and mechanisms by which these pollutants impact forest processes in North America (Shriner et al., 1991) and in Europe (Schulze & Freer-Smith, 1991; Landmann, 1991).

Forest declines: some perspectives on linking processes and patterns

The role of acid deposition in the health of spruce fir forests in the Southern Appalachian Mountains has been investigated by a wide variety of experimental approaches during the past 10 years These studies have proceeded from initial dendroecological documentation of altered growth patterns of mature trees to increasingly more focused ecophysiological research on the causes and characteristics of changes in system function associated with increased acidic deposition Field studies across gradients in deposition and soil chemistry have been located on four mountains spanning 85 km of latitude within the Southern Appalachians The conclusion that calcium nutrition is an important component regulating health of red spruce in the Southern Appalachians and that acid deposition significantly reduces calcium availability in several ways has emerged as a consistent result from multiple lines or research These have included analysis of trends in wood chemistry, soil solution chemistry, foliar nutrition, gas exchange physiology, root histochemistry, and controlled laboratory and field studies in which acid deposition and/or calcium nutrition has been manipulated and growth and nutritional status of saplings or mature red spruce trees measured This earlier research has led us to investigate the broader implications and consequences of calcium deficiency for changing resistance of spruce-fir forests to natural stresses Current research is exploring possible relationships between altered calcium nutrition and shifts in response of Fraser fir to insect attack by the balsam wooly adelgid In addition, changes in wood ultrastructural properties in relation to altered wood chemistry is being examined to evaluate its possible role in canopy deterioration, under wind and ice stresses typical of high elevation forests

/pdf/effects-of-acid-deposition-on-calcium-nutrition-and-health-44p31j6g35.pdf

Effects of acid deposition on calcium nutrition and health of Southern Appalachian spruce fir forests

A survey of red spruce growth trends at several sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) was undertaken to determine the relationship of the magnitude and timing of changes in annual radial increment to elevation, aspect, tree age, mortality, and competitive status. The growth changes observed suggest responses to changes in climate (principally temperature) or atmospheric pollution acting individually or, more likely, in combination. Major emphasis on these potential causes is warranted in future studies. 56 refs., 8 figs., 11 tabs.

A survey of radial growth trends in spruce in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as influenced by topography, age, and stand development

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A survey of radial growth trends in spruce in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as influenced by topography, age, and stand development