Forests cover 27 per cent of the region west of the Urals and 35 per cent of the FSU-a total of 900 million hectares (FAO, 1995b). Combined, they contain almost 15 per cent of the world s forest biomass (FAO, 1995b). A large proportion of the region s forests are in the Russian Federation (FAO, 1995b). The region, however, has little left of its mature, biodiversity-rich natural forest ecosystems due to centuries of exploitation (EEA, 1995a).
Since the early 1960s, Europe s total forest area has increased by more than 10 per cent, mainly in the south and west (EEA, 1995a). Though small in percentage terms, there have been some huge areal increases in the east as well: from 1988 to 1993, registered forestlands in Russia increased by 3.9 million hectares (0.33 per cent) (Min. of Env. Prot. and Nat. Res. of the Russ. Fed., 1995a). Increases have been due to reforestation policies and spontaneous tree growth in marginal areas (EEA, 1995a).
While there is an overall increase in growing stock and forest productivity in the region (FAO, 1995b), large-scale deforestation is currently under way in the boreal forests of the Russian Federation. Much of the logging there is fostered by large timber companies from outside the area; the extensive timber removal is causing serious erosion problems and habitat changes that have negative impacts on biodiversity (EEA, 1995a). In addition, in some CEE countries such as Georgia, thousands of hectares of mountain forests have been felled to provide fuel (REC, 1994). However, the region s forests are reportedly increasingly valued for their environmental and other non-wood functions (FAO, 1995b).
Forest degradation is of more widespread concern in Europe than deforestation. Crown defoliation and discolouration indicate a general worsening in forest conditions in many parts of the region, although no reliable correlation has been established yet between tree growth and defoliation. The forests most severely affected by defoliation are in central, north, and south-east Europe. In a 1993 transnational survey, 22.6 per cent of trees were found to be defoliated by more than 25 per cent (EC/UN-ECE, 1994). Recent research has demonstrated a number of causative factors, including adverse weather conditions, air pollution, pests and pathogens, and forest fires rather than just acid rain, as previously suspected (EC/UN-ECE, 1994; EEA, 1995a).
Nevertheless, a number of the most affected countries consider air pollution the major reason for catastrophic dieback in local areas including the Black Triangle on the borders of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic; Upper Silesia in Poland; and the Kola Peninsula and Norilsk areas of Russia (Nowicki, 1993; Min. of Env. Prot. and Nat. Res. of the Russ. Fed., 1993; Min. of Env. of the Czech Republic, 1996). It is believed that emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from coal-fuelled power plants are largely responsible for the 35-50 per cent of CEE forests that are damaged or dying, while non-ferrous smelting is a major contributor to the degradation of the Russian sites (Environmental Resources Ltd., 1990). Fires damage some 700,000 hectares of forest each year, mainly in parts of the FSU and southern Europe, although in the latter area a certain frequency of burning is necessary to maintain vegetation types like chaparral and maquis (EEA, 1995a).
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