Definition of Waldsterben in English:
Waldsterben
noun ˈvaltˌʃtɛrbnˈvaltˌʃtɛːb(ə)n
mass nounDisease and death in forest trees in central Europe as a result of atmospheric pollution.
the politicians of Europe were galvanized by Waldsterben unlike any environmental issue
Example sentencesExamples
- Back in the 80s I did several feature stories for American Forests Magazine on Waldsterben.
- Acid rain from fossil-fuel pollution damaged the forest that remained so much that the term Waldsterben (forest death) was coined a few decades ago.
- In the case of Waldsterben in central Europe, three types of symptoms typify the recent changes that have taken place in many species of trees under a wide variety of ecological conditions.
- The main causes of the pollution responsible for Waldsterben are industrial plants and traffic.
- So the debate about what causes this deficiency has become central to the wider argument about Waldsterben.
Origin
1980s: from German, from Wald 'forest' + Sterben 'death'.