Introduction

Forests of the world are of enormous importance to mankind for wood, watershed, wildlife, recreation, wilderness, and aesthetic and amenity values. Over the next several decades improved understanding of forests, wilderness stewardship, improved natural forest management, and increased acreages of intensively managed artificial forests will significantly improve these values. During this same period, unfortunately, other human activities will exert a variety of stresses on forest ecosystems. One of the most important stresses of widespread significance is air pollution. This book is an exploration of the various interactions between air pollution and temperate forest ecosystems.