Damage in 2007, according to the data of the Central Agricultural Office

The survey of the effect of transboundary air pollution made on forests has been going on since 1988, and it is proceeded annually, in 4x4 km sampling grid.

During the condition-survey in 2007 – differently from the earlier years – the sampling was done on only 78 sample points, instead of the previous 1220, because of the limited financial sources. Such a rough decreasing of the sampling means that one must not accept the conclusions drawn for the domestic areas indisputably, although the data are acceptably accurate for the European-scale, international supply of data. It must be highlighted that in the future we must return to the survey with 1220 sample points.
After the above-emphasized facts, the numbers below show the health conditions of Hungarian forests – although with less reliability – according to the collected data, taking the total damage into consideration.
damage 0-10%   11-25%   26-60%   61<   died-off
2006.     36.8     40.5        16.9       2.9     2.9
2007.     36.7     34.6        19.5       6.9     2.3

Taking the earlier trends into consideration, the proportion of the healthy specimen is constant, while the following categories imply a negative-directional drift to the more damaged categories. As for the oaks, the proportion of the healthy (0-11%) specimen increased in 2007, while the number of the specimen in the moderately damaged (26-60%) category has decreased. Additionally we can say that in case of the pedunculate oak the proportion of the slightly damaged (11-25%) specimen has increased by 2.8%, while as for the last year condition of the healthy specimen we can observe an improvement of 2.7%. As for beech, hornbeam and locust, the number of healthy specimen has decreased. Hornbeam is outstanding, because the proportion of healthy specimen shows 26.7% of decreasing, but it must be emphasized that the decreasing of the sampling can be the major cause of this regression.

As for defoliation we collected the following data:

damage 0-10%   11-25%   26-60%   61<    died-off
2006.    41.3        39.5       13.9      2.4        2.9
2007.    38.9        33.9       18.5      6.4        2.3

Despite the overall view, the improvement of oaks in the 0-10% category is general and definite. However, hornbeam and locust shows a clean regression in the moderately damaged category.
As for the crown dieback of locust and poplars, we can observe a slighter damage than in the previous year.
This is a good example of the false conclusions that can be easily drown from the subtotal, because for example in 2006 the proportion of the healthy spruce specimen was 47%, and it has modified to 0% by this year. But when we take into consideration that in 2007, the evaluation was made on the basis of only 2 spruce sample trees, the above „fact” is put in a different light.

Besides this monitoring system, a report is made annually on the damage seen on the competence area of given directorates. According to the reports arrived, it can be declared that the two-week drought and the frost in spring caused serious damage mainly to the young forestations, on the area of all directorates. On the area of the directorate in Vas county (Vas and Győr-Moson-Sopron counties), 188 hectares quantitative and 204 qualitative drought damage was reported, in Somogy 679 hectares quantitative and 186 hectares qualitative drought damage was reported, while in Bosod-Abaúj-Zemplén county the drought damage occurred as 305 hectares quantitative and 100 hectares qualitative damage.
The number of wildfires emerged has also increased due to the droughty period. In Bács-Kiskun county in 2007 forest fire emerged on 1400 hectares.
According to the reports, game damage is also significant on the major part of the country.
Damage done by the Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth) is regressing, the gradation has collapsed almost everywhere. Considerable damage was still noticed in the Eastern half of the country: in Csongrád county the Lymantria damage was larger than 300 hectares, while in Békés county 650 hectares were totally chewed off, and 900 hectares were partially chewed, and on the Northern part of the flood plain of the Tisza (Taktaköz) an area of almost 50 hectares was registered as totally chewed off. Control measurements were taken against gypsy moth in the areas of Békés county, in the Bács-Kiskun county directorate on 115 hectares, on 100 hectares of the flood plain of the Tisza in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county directorate, and on 200 hectares in Győr-Moson-Sopron county.
  Wood-beetle continuously causes significant damage in the Hungarian spruce forests. In the area of Vas county directorate more than 900 hectares of damage was registered. In Zala county more than 500 hectares of sanitary logging was needed due to the wood-beetle damage. Significant wood-beetle damage was observed on the Bükk-plateau, which affected approx. 30 forest subcompartments.
 Significant change has not occurred comparing to 2006 in case of the Cryphonectria parasitica fungus that causes bark cancer.