In Europe, large-scale forest surveys have a long history. As early as 1878 a large-scale inventory was conducted in Germany to obtain data on structure and production. Today national inventories based on mathematical and statistical methods are a matter of course in most West European countries, even though much information from inventories in numerous enterprises and some very intensive documentation of operations has already been recorded.
The basic aim of any national inventory is to obtain and furnish data to provide a basis for decisions and planning regarding forest functions. In those Central European countries with intensive forest management and dense populations, detailed data on forest area, forest condition, timber reserves, infrastructure, and the protective and recreational functions of the forest are needed.
Since the onset of forest decline in the early '80s, much emphasis has been laid on the determination of the state of health of the forest, including not only qualitative changes but also the increasing spread of this 'new type of damage'.
At this point it is appropriate to give a brief survey of national and forest damage inventories, with particular emphasis on the determination of the state of health of the forest More detailed information on the national forest inventories of France, Italy, Hungary, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Greece may be found in the publication by Pelz und Cunia (1985).