Forest Dieback as Affected by Soil Pollution with Special Reference to Montane Forests - A Review

Abstract

Forest mortality has an upward trend worldwide but has regional aspects as well. Preventive and suppressive measures are based on regional approaches, which address areas of high, medium and low risk mortality. As far as the existence of montane forest ecosystem is concerned, it will be extremely important to eradicate the threats on this delicate ecosystem. One of the most severe threats to montane forests is “dieback”. Since dieback dramatically deteriorates the richness of the forest stands, the functions offered by the forest will also be affected. If dieback is somehow linked with a contamination of the forest soil by various pollutants resulted by vehicle emission, industrial waste, agrochemicals etc., remediation of the polluted soil should mitigate dieback. If the necessary measures are taken to improve the soil quality as a whole in the affected areas, the deteriorated forest stands could be restored. For the execution of a successful soil remediation program aiming at mitigating forest dieback, it would be essential to identify the key causes behind dieback first and then, depending on the type of the pollutants and the status of the pollution, the most appropriate soil remediation techniques could be selected. The remediation should be continued until the detectable levels of each contaminant in the soil reaches below the safety levels agreed upon. Finally, the gaps caused by dieback could be filled by a successful reestablishment of trees to bring the affected forest a full recovery.