The coincident observation of 'Waldsterben' in Germany and red spruce decline in the northeastern U.S. has naturally led to some speculation that similar mechanisms may be involved. In the German situation, soil-mediated hypotheses played (and still play) a major role; namely, soil acidification and aluminum toxicity and base cation deficiencies. In the red spruce case, there has been much concern that cation deficiencies and/or aluminum toxicity may also play a major role. The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) review some of the basic properties of soils, nutrition, and nutrient cycling in spruce-fir and fir ecosystems, both in the polluted and in the relatively unpolluted regions of the U.S. and Canada, and (2) to evaluate several soil acidity-related hypotheses for red spruce decline.