UN FAO, 2010 - Two Sides

Forest health and vitality 83
Trends
Of the 233 countries and areas included in FRA 2010, 45 countries reported on the area
of forest affected by biotic factors other than insects and diseases for all three reporting
periods (i.e. 1990, 2000 and 2005), representing a mere 10 percent of the total forest
area. A further 15 countries reported for the 2005 reporting period only. Data were
provided by 45 countries on the area of forest affected by abiotic factors other than
fire for all three reporting periods, together accounting for 24 percent of the total forest
area. A further 15 countries provided data for the 2005 reporting period only.
At this point in time, there is insufficient quantitative information for a trend
analysis.
conclusions
Information on disturbances caused by biotic and abiotic factors other than insects,
disease and fire was very sporadic and included a broad range of causative agents
– some of them very localized – making an aggregation and comparison between
countries and regions virtually impossible.
Major factors reported included storms, domestic animals and damage by wildlife
including rats. The impact of woody invasive species on forest health and vitality is
causing increasing concern – particularly in SIDS, where they threaten the habitat of
endemic species.
An international agreement on what constitutes a disturbance and how best to
obtain and analyse data would assist with future data collection and reporting.