Crown Condition & Damage Causes

The Expert Panel on Crown Condition and Damage Causes is responsible for carrying out forest health surveys. The assessments are conducted annually on around 140,000 forest trees on more than 6,000 Level I and Level II plots throughout Europe, and include important indicators of forest health such as crown defoliation (needle/leaf loss in tree crowns) and the presence and extent of damage induced by various biotic (e.g. insects and fungi) and abiotic (e.g. drought, storms and snow) factors, helping to document the forest ecosystem response to environmental pressures.

The Expert Panel closely cooperates with the Programme Co-ordinating Centre and the national data centres in order to contribute to the annual data evaluation, reporting and quality assurance measures.

The Expert Panel members meet biannually to exchange information, discuss new methodologies and to further develop the monitoring methods layed down in the ICP Forests Manual common for all participating countries.