Statistics Explained

Glossary:Degree of defoliation

The degree of defoliation is the extent to which trees and plants have lost their leaves or needles, often as a result of exposure to pollutants, in a visually-assessed measure of defoliation of trees, as developed by the United Nations International Cooperative Programme of the Executive Committee for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution in Europe (ICP Forests). This programme monitors the condition of forests in Europe.

Damage classes are from 0 to 4.

Class Needle/leaf loss Degree of defoliation
0 up to and including 10 % none
1 >10 to 25 % slight (warning stage)
2 >25 to 60 % moderate
3 >60 to < 100 % severe
4 100 % dead

Further information

Statistical data