vegetation Local authorities became aware of damage to vegetation caused by the factories by the early 1960s, a phenomenon that widened and intensified over time. In 1961, some 100 ha of trees, those in direct proximity to the sources of pollution, were afflicted. This figure had risen to 1650 ha by 1973 and nearly 8000 ha in 1978. Studies in 1988 and 1999 revealed that the entirety of the forests managed from Mediaș were polluted—20,110 ha in the earlier study, or 17,247 ha in 1999, following the transfer of two parcels to Dumbrăveni. Starting in 1988, pollution was also observed in neighboring forest districts: Dumbrăveni (947 ha), Agnita (60 ha), Blaj (8,900 ha), so that over 30,000 ha were polluted, a number that remained constant in 1999. The intensity of damage also grew. In 1973, 120 ha of Mediaș forests fell into the category of most severe damage. This grew to 900 ha in 1978, nearly 2600 ha in 1988 and over 4500 ha in 1999. The Micăsasa and Târnava forests are the most polluted, the Șeica Mică and Boian ones less so, and those at Dârlos the least. Natural regrowth of forests has been made more difficult in the least polluted areas, while in the severely to moderately polluted zones, it had stopped completely or was trending in that direction by 2008. Planting trees, even with additional costs such as fertilizer, has not always been successful either, due to soil contamination and elevated acidity. For instance, between 1994 and 1998, planting yielded a success rate of between 12 and 95%. Erosion, landslides and repeated fires have taken place, and trees' beneficial effects on climate, water and air quality have been seriously diminished or eliminated. Replanting of intensely polluted soil started in 1988 and by 2008, 644 ha had been replanted, with the Black Locust proving especially well adapted, among other species. Upon privatization of Sometra in 1998, the government, in accordance with a 1995 law, stipulated that fourteen steps would have to be taken by 2002. These would lessen the plant's environmental impact by reducing gas and toxic dust emissions. One step was to plant 40-50 ha of trees on the banks of the Târnava Mare River; trees paid for by the company were planted on 35 ha between 2000 and 2003. With Sometra shuttered, the year 2010 marked the first since measurements were taken that air pollution did