In the year 2002 a permanent monitoring network of the decline of the cork oak stands in Sardinia was created, with the aims of defining the real incidence of these phenomena, detecting the main causes and outlining the most suitable control strategies. This network includes 43 stations representing all the forest situations in which cork oak grows. For each station the climatic, sylvicultural and phytosanitary profiles were outlined and the decline incidence in autumn was established. In this study the results of surveys carried out during 2002-2004 to investigate the decline evolution in stripped and unstripped cork oak trees, in relation to the meteorological course, are reported. The average decline incidence increased in the year 2003 and remained at the same values in 2004. There was a remarkable decrease in healthy or lightly declining plants and a significant increase in more severely affected plants. The highest incidence values were detected in the stripped trees and in those growing in unshrubbed and grazed areas. These changes occurred in a year characterized by a particularly hot and dry May-September period. Undoubtedly, it is necessary to continue to follow the evolution of these phenomena before giving useful suggestions for outlining intervention strategies and the most suitable management procedures in the different Sardinian cork oak stands