The Swiss forest currently shows no signs of being under immediate threat. This welcome observation from forest research does not mean, however, that all is well. Thus depositions of pollution from the air, especially of nitrogen oxides, continue to be a severe and long-term threat for our forests. It has not been possible to assess their affects fully yet. Bark beetles, especially the spruce bark beetle, are causing tremendous problems at the moment. Drought periods, which have become noticeably more frequent in recent decades, are also a source of concern for Switzerland's largest habitat.
Since the eighties, when the state of the forest became the focus of public attention, researchers have been able to clarify several processes taking place in the forest. But many questions to do with the future of the forest remain unanswered. There is still great need for more research, particularly long-term research on ecosystems. In order to grasp the complex relationships involved better, the scientific community is working more closely together than ever before. Researchers are observing, for example, over 870 forest sites throughout Europe, of which 17 are in Switzerland, to explore the interconnections between the state of the forest, environmental pollution and climate change.