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Incidences of oak decline have occurred repeatedly during the past three centuries as well as in the most recent decades. On the basis of historical records and dendrochronological measurements, oak decline in Central Europe has been attributed to the single or combined effects of climatic extremes (winter frost, summer drought), defoliating insects, and pathogenic fungi. Starting from a literature review, we discuss the possible roles of various abiotic (air pollution, nitrogen eutrophication, soil chemical stress, climatic extremes, site conditions) and biotic factors (insect defoliation, borer attack, infection by pathogenic fungi, microorganisms) that have been related to oak decline. On the basis of investigations on Quercus petraea and Quercus robur at three different levels (from experiments with young trees to monitoring on a supraregional scale), we suggest a conceptual model of the interaction of abiotic and biotic …