WALDSTERBEN

noun Also written waldsterben (Environment) A type of environmental disaster in which trees and other vegetation in a forest become diseased and die, usually as a result of pollution. Etymology: A direct borrowing from German Waldsterben, literally 'forest death'. History and Usage: The process of Waldsterben was first noticed in fir trees in Germany in the seventies; by the early eighties, the effect had spread to other species of tree as well, and there was considerable alarm in Central and Northern Europe at the prospect of whole tracts of forest perhaps disappearing as a result of pollution. The German term has been used in English since about 1983, and is applied to the death of forests from environmental causes whether or not the forests are in Germany. A survey conducted in mid-summer by the Allensbach Institute revealed that 99 per cent of those asked had heard of Waldsterben--the death of Germany's forests. Financial Times 19 Nov. 1983, p. 15 Although the industrial areas are the worst affected, pollution damage has spread throughout Poland and beyond. Half the trees are showing signs of waldsterben, or 'forest dieback'. EuroBusiness June 1990, p. 11