Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Natural Hazards Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Ash tree import ban to halt disease
Topic Started: 28 Oct 2012, 01:23 AM (1,645 Views)
skibboy
Member Avatar

27 October 2012

Ash tree import ban to halt disease

Posted Image

A ban on the import of ash trees will come into force on Monday in an attempt to halt the spread of a deadly disease, the environment secretary has said.

Owen Paterson has denied ministers were slow to react to the outbreak.

The Chalara fraxinea fungus, which causes Chalara dieback, has already killed 90% of ash trees in Denmark and has been found in East Anglia.

Mr Paterson said 50,000 ash trees have already been destroyed to try to prevent the spread of the disease.

Until earlier this week, the disease had only been recorded in a few nursery specimens.

Mr Paterson said: "We will bring in a ban on Monday. I have already prepared the legislation and we're ready to go. The evidence is clearly there."

The disease was first spotted in February, at a nursery in Buckinghamshire - a case that was confirmed in March, said the environment secretary.

Since then, examinations had been carried out at more than 1,000 sites and tree experts had been consulted.

Mr Paterson said ash trees were not imported commercially during the summer, so the amount of time that had elapsed since the initial discovery had not increased the risk that more infected trees had been brought in.

More widespread

But Tim Briercliffe from the Horticultural Trades Association insisted the government's response to the disease had been too slow.

He said: "As a trade we're very frustrated about it, because in 2009 we saw it out in Denmark on trees and we said you should ban imports now.

"They didn't do it - they suggested that it was already endemic across Europe and across the UK, and since then the disease has continued to come in, and we believe it could be more widespread than perhaps we realise at the moment."


Symptoms of Chalara dieback

Diseased saplings typically display dead tops and side shoots.
Lesions often found at base of dead side shoots.
Lesions on branch or stem can cause wilting of foliage above.
Disease affects mature trees by killing off new growth.


The Woodland Trust welcomed the ban but called on the government to set up an emergency summit to manage other diseases affecting trees in the UK.

Its chief executive, Sue Holden, said: "Ash dieback is only one of numerous tree pests and diseases present in the UK... it is crucial that the wider issue is tackled."

Ash trees suffering with C. fraxinea have been found across mainland Europe, with Denmark reporting the disease has wiped out about 90% of its ash trees.

Experts say that if the disease becomes established, then it could have a similar impact on the landscape as Dutch elm disease had in the 1970s.

This outbreak resulted in the death of most mature English elm by the 1980s. Elms have recovered to some extent but in some cases only through careful husbandry.

The East Anglia outbreak has been confirmed by plant scientists from the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) at the Woodland Trust's Pound Farm woodland in Suffolk, and Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Lower Wood reserve, in Ashwellthorpe.

In a statement, the Woodland Trust said that the fungal infection had been found in "mature ancient woodland and woodland creation areas on our estate".

The disease has the potential to devastate the UK's ash tree population.

Visible symptoms include leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees and it can lead to tree death.

In Europe, affected trees are not just in woodlands but are also being found in urban trees in parks and gardens and also nursery trees.

Chalara dieback of ash has been listed as a quarantine pathogen under national emergency measures and the Forestry Commission has produced guidance, including help on how people can identify possible signs of infection.

Experts are urging people to report suspected cases of dieback in order to prevent the spread of the disease to the wider environment becoming established.

source: Posted Image
Edited by skibboy, 28 Oct 2012, 01:24 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

02 NOVEMBER 2012

Britain scrambles to contain deadly ash tree disease

Posted Image
File picture of the entrance to a farm in Suffolk, eastern England. The British government convened its emergency crisis committee on Friday to discuss how to contain a fungal disease threatening ash trees that has already wiped out swathes of woodland in Denmark.

AFP - The British government convened its emergency crisis committee on Friday to discuss how to contain a fungal disease threatening ash trees that has already wiped out swathes of woodland in Denmark.

The deadly fungus Chalara fraxinea has been present in European ash trees for the past two decades, destroying up to 90 percent of the species in some areas of Denmark, and has now been found in Britain.

Ministers announced a ban on the import of ash trees on Monday as well as restrictions of the movement of the trees, its plants and seeds within Britain, but there were fears it could already have spread.

The crisis has revived memories of Dutch elm disease, which devastated Britain's elm trees in the 1970s. About 100,000 ash trees have been destroyed so far in an attempt to halt the spread of the fungal disease, which first appeared in Britain in February in a consignment of imported trees in a nursery.

Last month it was identified in ash trees in the wider countryside in eastern England.

Britain has about 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of predominately ash tree woodland, comprising about 5.5 percent of its woods, with a further 12 million ash trees outside woods and forests, according to the Forestry Commission.

The trees have high conservation value, as their light and airy canopy allows sunlight through to the woodland floor to enable a rich and varied ground flora to grow. This in turn provides food for a wide variety of insects and birds.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson chaired a meeting of the government's crisis committee, Cobra, on Friday to discuss how to manage the problem with government's chief scientific advisor and forestry and environmental officials.

Speaking earlier this week, Paterson said: "This is a very serious disease that demands action to stop its spread."

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

2 November 2012

Ash dieback: 'Wash after visiting woods' plea

Posted Image
There are fears that wind spores could carry the disease out of East Anglia

The environment secretary has urged the public to wash their dogs and boots and even their children after visiting wooded areas, to help stop the spread of a fungus which is killing ash trees.

Owen Paterson spoke after the government's emergency committee Cobra met to discuss the ash dieback menace.

Some 100,000 trees have been destroyed in the UK, where East Anglia has been particularly badly affected.

The infection has killed some 90% of ash trees in Denmark.

Ministers are concerned that the fungus could be present on fallen leaves and could be transferred via leaf mould.

Mr Paterson told the BBC: "Everyone should be responsible and if they do visit a wood just make sure they wash their boots, wash their dog, whatever's been running around the leaves, wash their child, to make sure they don't transfer to the next wood."

About 2,500 10sq km sites across the UK are being surveyed to establish how far the disease has spread, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Amid criticism from Labour, Mr Paterson denied the government had been slow to act when the infection was first discovered.

He said: "This disease was only established here on 7 March. During the summer, trees are not planted so a programme of inspection has gone on during which 100,000 trees have been destroyed.

"But as I have also made clear, this disease as we discovered recently has possibly blown in.

"It's on the basis of that information that we're now working together right across government at the highest level, using expertise in every department, to bear down on the disease," he said.

Ash dieback, also known as Chalara dieback, is caused by the fungus Chalara Fraxinea.

The disease was first discovered in the UK in February in a consignment of trees imported from the Netherlands by a nursery in Buckinghamshire.

The Forestry Commission has said it has since been found at sites across England and Scotland, including Leicester, South Yorkshire, County Durham and in Knockmountain Woods near Glasgow.

The trees at all the locations above had been grown from young ash saplings obtained from nurseries within the past five years.

In October, scientists confirmed a spate of cases in Norfolk and Suffolk in trees not planted recently, which appear to form a wider infection zone.

Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh has accused the government of "dithering" over the issue and has expressed concerns over cutbacks to the Forestry Commission's budget.

But environment minister David Heath denied there had been any cut back in resources "applied to plant health and tree health in this country".

Visible symptoms of ash dieback include leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees and it can lead to tree death.

The disease has been listed as a quarantine pathogen under national emergency measures and the Forestry Commission has produced guidance, including help on how people can identify possible signs of infection.

Experts are urging people to report suspected cases of dieback in order to prevent the spread of the disease to the wider environment becoming established.

An app, Ashtag, has been launched to try to map the spread of the disease by allowing users to upload pictures and report possible sightings to a team which will pass any information to the Forestry Commission.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

5 November 2012

Ash dieback: Government faces possible legal action

Posted Image
There is evidence the disease has been carried on the wind in East Anglia

A nursery forced to destroy 50,000 ash trees after a fungal disease was found is considering taking legal action against the government for failing to block imports sooner.

Simon Ellis of Crowders in Lincolnshire said ash dieback was found in 15 trees in June but officials issued a notice preventing the firm from taking action.

Ministers said the import ban was brought in as soon as it was practical.

The environment secretary will chair a summit on ash dieback on Wednesday.

The disease has now been confirmed at 82 locations in England and Scotland.

On Monday, government officials confirmed that the disease was present in woodlands in Kent and Essex.

In the last six weeks, 100,000 ash trees have been destroyed and experts say it may be too late to stop the spread of the fungus.

Posted Image
Britain's population of 80 million ash trees provides shelter and food for a wide range of wildlife, mostly birds and insects. The species' loosely-branched structure means plenty of light reaches the woodland floor, allowing a variety of plants to grow beneath them.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

The Irish Times - Friday, November 9, 2012

Saving the ash

The devastation caused by Dutch elm disease in the 1970s and 1980s may be repeated if effective measures are not taken to counter a virulent threat to our ash tree population.

There are some hopeful signs.

A common approach to banning the importation of all ash seeds, plants and wood with bark attached has been agreed with the Northern Ireland authorities and certificates will be required to show material comes from disease-free areas.

That initiative mimics the approach taken in relation to foot-and-mouth disease some years ago.

But it must be followed up with aggressive measures designed to contain and to eradicate vectors of the lethal fungal disease, given the rate of spread in Britain.

Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Shane McEntee signed the necessary protocols this week following evidence that the disease is present in the country.

It was imported into this State in a consignment of young trees from the Netherlands. Since then, it has been identified in four counties, all linked to imported material.

The young plants and adjacent trees have been destroyed.

A similar, strict regime is being followed in Northern Ireland.

The disease has infected or killed some 90 per cent of the ash trees in Denmark.

It was recognised in Britain on imported plants.

Since then, evidence has emerged that the disease has spread naturally, by way of wind or birds, along the East coast.

Some 83 sites have been identified in England and seven in Scotland.

Experts say it may not be possible to contain it. Here in Ireland, we still have that opportunity.

Ash trees account for 3 per cent of Irish forests.

But they make up about 30 per cent of the entire tree population and are found mainly in hedgerows and on well-drained soil.

Their loss would be catastrophic, particularly in visual, landscape and environmental terms; not forgetting their use in the manufacture of hurleys.

Cost considerations contributed to the loss of our mature elm trees.

That cannot be allowed to happen in relation to the ubiquitous ash.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

County Council monitoring health of Hampshire's ash trees

9 November 2012

In the light of the fungal threat to the nation's ash trees, Hampshire County Council has confirmed that it is monitoring the county's ash tree species for signs of the disease: Charlara fraxinea.

The disease is reported to have killed 90 per cent of Denmark's stock of ash trees and has been found in a number of locations across England since February. To date, no signs of the disease have been found in Hampshire.

Trees on the highway will continue to be inspected as part of the County Council's tree safety inspection programmes and council arboriculturalists will be on alert and vigilant for signs of the disease on any ash trees (estimated to be over seven per cent of the tree stock on the highway).

With regard to the County Council's countryside responsibilities, planting of the common ash tree has been suspended on the Council's landholdings and in any work being carried out, such as planting hedgerows along Rights-of-Way.

Councillor Mel Kendal, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Environment and Transport, commented:

"We are just as concerned about this issue and its implications for Hampshire, as the Government is for the whole of the country. We will work closely with the relevant Government departments, including the Forestry Commission of course, as well as our district council partners, to do whatever we can to minimise the spread of this disease and prevent the loss of ash tree species from Hampshire's landscape.

"Our resources are not exhaustive however, and we would urge people who are out and about to take a particular interest in ash trees and look out for signs of the disease. People who have ash trees within the boundary of their private property are also advised to inspect them regularly. Anyone who thinks an ash tree could be showing signs of the disease is asked to report it to the Forestry Commission, and to provide detailed information about the tree's location."

Anyone who identifies signs of Charlara fraxinea in species of ash trees should report the infected tree to the Forestry Commission's Plant Health Service at plant.health@forestry.gsi.gov.uk and also notify arb@hants.gov.uk

The disease has been listed as a quarantine pathogen under national emergency measures and the Forestry Commission has produced guidance, including help on how people can identify and report possible signs of infection.This can be found online at http://www.forestry.gov.uk

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

9 November 2012

Chalara ash dieback summit to be held at Holyrood

Posted Image
Scientists believe it will be impossible to eradicate the disease now it has taken hold in the UK

A summit is to be held at Holyrood to discuss the best way of stemming the spread of Chalara ash dieback.

The disease, which is threatening to devastate the UK's ash tree population, has now been confirmed at 14 sites across Scotland.

Two of these - at Eyemouth and Kinghorn - involve mature trees in their natural environment.

Next week's summit will bring together forestry, environmental and farming organisations.

Laboratory results from samples taken as part of this week's survey of 2,730 ash sites in Scotland were said to have provideed vital information which will be discussed at the summit.

The disease is only infectious during the summer months, and there is said to be very little risk of it spreading at this time of year.


“The latest scientific advice is that realistically it will be impossible to eradicate this disease now that it has been discovered in the wider environment”
Paul Wheelhouse
Environment minister

Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, who will be hosting the event at the Scottish Parliament, said the onset of autumn meant there was a "good window of opportunity" to gather the best scientific advice in order to chart the way forward.

He added: "We now have two cases involving mature trees in the natural environment. While this is disappointing, we should consider this in the context of the much greater extent of the disease in the wider environment in the south of England.

"The latest scientific advice is that realistically it will be impossible to eradicate this disease now that it has been discovered in the wider environment in the island of Great Britain and south east England in particular.

"Attempts to do so would involve wholesale destruction of ash trees and ash woodlands, with no guarantees of success, and this would hamper efforts to identify resistant strains of ash as well as causing considerable damage to the wider ecosystem."

Mr Wheelhouse said mature trees can survive infection for a considerable number of years, and experience in Europe indicates that those with genetic resistance to the disease will survive.

"We will be working very hard to identify those trees that do possess a genetic resistance to the fungus and these will be invaluable as stock from which we can develop a supply of resistant trees for restocking our woodlands", he said.

Organisations which have been invited to the summit include Confor, Woodland Trust Scotland, National Farmers Union Scotland, RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland, Ramblers Association and Scottish Land and Estates.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Audi-Tek
Member Avatar

Ash dieback: Spotter's guide and maps.


Ash dieback fungal disease, which has infected some 90% of the species in Denmark, is threatening to devastate Britain's 80m ash population. Symptoms of the disease can be visible on leaves, shoots and branches of affected trees.


Posted Image
Source: Food and Environment Research Agency
Cases mapped

Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are currently investigating suspected cases across the country. So far, the disease - caused by the fungus chalara fraxinea - has been found at more than 100 locations in England, Wales and Scotland.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) has also been mapping further "likely sightings" that have been submitted through a free smartphone app, called Ashtag, which allows users to upload pictures and report suspected cases. Information is then passed on to the Forestry Commission.

Wider impact

The loss of Britain's ash population would pose a serious threat to the UK plant and animals that depend upon the trees for their survival.

The species forms a significant proportion of the country's woodland cover and contributes to thousands of miles of hedgerows. The network of Wildlife Trusts says any loss of this crucial habitat would have a dramatic negative impact on the natural environment.

Explore the slideshow below to find out which species the ash tree supports.
How ash dieback could threaten Britain's wildlife
Posted Image
Britain's population of 80 million ash trees provides shelter and food for a wide range of wildlife, mostly birds and insects. The species' loosely-branched structure means plenty of light reaches the woodland floor, allowing a variety of plants to grow beneath them.

Read more here......... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20171524
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s urges swift action against ash dieback

Sunday 11th November 2012

Posted Image
An ash dieback diseased leaf

CHESHIRE Wildlife Trust has warned against the ‘potentially devastating’ impact of ash dieback, which has been found in wild trees in the UK for the first time.

The conservation charity says the Chalara fraxinea fungus - dubbed ‘ash dieback’ – could pose a very real threat to trees in the region, which is already one of the least wooded areas in the UK.

Around half of Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s 46 nature reserves are woodlands, including Cotterill Clough on the northern fringes of Manchester Airport which was first designated in 1912, and has already been at risk twice in the last century from the expansion of the airport runways.


It’s feared that any arrival of ash dieback here would decimate the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) reserve.

The disease has recently been discovered in woodland nature reserves in Norfolk and Suffolk.

The Government taken action by banning imported ash, and 100,000 ash have been destroyed in an effort to tackle the spread.

There are around 80 million ash trees at risk across the UK, with 90 per cent of ash specimens recently lost in Denmark to the disease.

Cheshire has just over 6.4 per cent of woodland cover – compared to the UK average of around 10 per cent – with only low-lying fenland counties such as Cambridgeshire having less.

Following the impact of Dutch elm disease during the 1970s, ash has become one of the ‘dominant canopy species’ in much of the area's woodlands, along with oak.

The trust’s head of estates and land management, Jacki Hulse, said: “Sadly, I can still remember how the face of our countryside changed after Dutch elm disease.

“Most of our beautiful and stunning woodland clough nature reserves are dominated by ash trees and losing them would ultimately change those woodlands forever, possibly irrecoverably, as non-native species such as sycamore may then take over.

“It seems that with every turning leaf this autumn our countryside and wildlife is facing a new battle, but we hope with swift action from the Government and the public, this is one challenge we can overcome.”

Guidance has already been provided by the Woodland Trust and Forestry Commission on key symptoms and the public are being asked to be vigilant for the disease, which is typically characterised by leaf dieback from the top of the tree, or crown, first.

Guidance on the symptoms of ash dieback can be found via the Cheshire Wildlife Trust website, and the charity is asking anyone concerned to capture photographs where possible, to help distinguish between the disease and natural autumn changes in leaf cover.

www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ash dieback: ministers accused of 'hiding inconvenient truths'

Changes were made to the government's scientific document emphasising role of the wind in spreading disease

Damian Carrington
guardian.co.uk, Monday 12 November 2012

Posted Image
Ministers have been attacked for taking too long to ban the import and movement of infected ash trees. Photograph: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

Ministers have been accused of "hiding inconvenient truths" about the spread of the deadly fungus threatening Britain's ash trees.

The criticism stems from changes made to the "scientific facts" published by the government about ash dieback, which emphasised the role of the wind in spreading the disease over the role of infected trees imported from continental Europe.

Ministers can do nothing to stop the wind blowing spores across the country, but have been attacked for taking too long to ban the import and movement of infected ash trees.

The original government document stated: "Wind-blown spores may be dispersed up to 20-30km .

Longer distance spread occurs via infected plants or potentially via wood products."

But an additional sentence was inserted on 9 November: "On occasions, spores may disperse much further on the wind."

The Guardian understands this is not supported by any published scientific research, but was agreed at a recent meeting of forestry researchers convened by Prof Ian Boyd, chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

A Defra spokeswoman admitted the document had been altered without the change being highlighted: "When this document was updated to better reflect the scientific consensus on wind-borne dispersal, the explanatory text [to note] the changes was not updated due to an administrative error. This has now been rectified."

"What I really object to is that you get the best science presented one day, but when you poke and prod that, the science changes," said Mary Creagh, Labour's shadow environment secretary, who met Boyd last week.

"Ministers are leaning on government scientists to hide inconvenient truths about the disease. It is another sign that scientists are under pressure from incompetent ministers to make the science fit the policy, not the policy fit the science, just as we saw with the badger cull."

The Green party MP Caroline Lucas said focusing blame on the wind was "politically convenient".

On Friday, the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, acknowledged it would be impossible to eradicate ash dieback from Britain.

He said the best hope was to slow the progression of the disease while searching for ash strains which have natural genetic resistance to the Chalara fraxinea fungus.

Paterson and the Conservative party declined to comment on the changes to the scientific facts document.

But during a debate on ash dieback on Monday evening, the Lib Dem environment minister David Heath told MPs he would not take part in a "blame game".

He said: "Those who wish to peddle conspiracy theories can do so. We will get on with dealing with the disease."

Boyd had explained the hypothesis that wind dispersal was responsible for the arrival of spread of ash dieback on Friday, saying weather models for recent years suggested there had been "a number of days when a plume of spores [travelled] across the UK".

He also noted that infections in wild trees, as opposed to those linked to infections imported into nurseries, are very concentrated in the south-east of England, the nearest region to continental Europe.

Most wild infections are in Kent and East Anglia, but there are at least seven wild sites much further north and as far as Edinburgh in Scotland.

Infections linked to imports are spread right across Britain.

Boyd said computer modelling to examine the wind hypothesis had not been carried out and might be a waste of resources: "I always tell my students, if a pattern looks statistically significant, it is statistically significant."

On preventing the spread of ash dieback through wind-blown fungal spores, Boyd said: "We can do nothing about that."

Ministers have been criticised for being slow to act, after the Horticultural Trade Association asked the then Labour government to ban ash imports in 2009.

However, at that time scientists believed the fungus causing ash dieback was already endemic in the UK, meaning no ban was possible.

In 2010, the year the coalition government took power, scientists realised that the deadly fungus was in fact a similar but distinct species.

The first British case of the disease was confirmed in February 2012 in a tree imported from the Netherlands to a nursery in Buckinghamshire.

Ash tree imports were banned on 29 October.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Quarantine zones to be established in war on ash dieback

Posted Image
The disease is threatening the UK's native ash trees. Picture: PA

By JULIA HORTON
Published on Wednesday 14 November 2012

REFUGE zones are being identified for threatened trees in a bid to help save Scotland’s woodlands from the spread of deadly Chalara ash dieback 
disease.

Experts are looking for locations in the west and north-west which are naturally protected from the wind – which can carry the spores of the dieback fungus – and also isolated from contact with infected, imported saplings.

Mature trees which show natural resistance to the disease will be used to try to develop new strains of ash which could be transported to these safe havens to help restock Scotland’s forests in future.

The measures are part of an action plan announced last night following a summit in Edinburgh where experts met the Scottish Government to decide how to control the disease.

Mass felling of mature ash trees and forests has been ruled out because the disease is now so widespread.

It has been found at both new planting sites and in established woods.

Environment and climate change minister Paul Wheelhouse said after yesterday’s meeting: “There were many useful and positive contributions from the floor that will certainly be looked at more closely as we co-ordinate with the UK government effort and develop a control strategy for the end of November.

“As a result of today’s meeting we will look at options for new planting sites, including immediate action to remove infected young plants. We will continue to monitor the situation and 
assess the scope and range of the disease.”

The next phase of the government’s response will involve working closely with land managers across Scotland, and the public, to monitor the disease.

It has been confirmed at 14 sites in Scotland so far, including two in the wild.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

14 November 2012

First case of ash dieback disease confirmed in Guernsey

Posted Image
The disease was found at a site in south east Guernsey and 86 trees had to be destroyed

The first case of ash dieback has been confirmed in Guernsey.

Nigel Clark, plant health inspector for the States of Guernsey, said the disease was found at a site in south east Guernsey, and 86 recently imported ash trees had been destroyed.

He said the finding underlined the importance of checking all recently imported ash trees.

A ban on importing the trees in Guernsey, Jersey and the UK was introduced last month after the disease was found.

The disease is caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea.

In Denmark, where the disease has been present for several years, it is estimated that 90% of ash trees have been lost.

Mr Clark said: "Finding infection early before it becomes established is essential if the islands ash trees are to be protected."

He said anyone with ash trees planted in the last three years need to contact Plant Health at Commerce and Employment to get their trees inspected.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Fears for our woodlands as ash disease creeps up

Thursday 15th November 2012

AS the ash disease outbreak blighting trees around the country creeps ever closer to Worcestershire there are fears for the future of historic woodland scenes such as this at Tiddesley Wood, Pershore.

Although the fungal disease has not yet officially reached the county, it is known to have reached Warwickshire and south Shropshire.

There are more than 90 million ash trees in the UK, an estimated two million of them in Worcestershire.

Harry Green, who looks after 200-acre Tiddesley Wood for the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, is bracing himself for the worst when the disease “inevitably” arrives.

“It’s very difficult to put exact figures on it but probably one third of all the trees here are fully grown ash and there are an awful lot more saplings besides,” he said.

“It is inevitable that the outbreak will find its way here but what is much harder to predict is just how much damage it will cause.

“The worst case scenario is that an awful lot of trees die.

“It would be a gradual thing. Saplings will succumb quite quickly but from what I understand the bigger trees may die slowly over a number of years.”

Environment secretary Owen Paterson met scientists and foresters last week to discuss how to fight the outbreak.

He is also talking to the EU about moves to issue “plant passports” and imposing a quarantine system.

But Mr Green believes this should have happened earlier to help minimise the risk of the disease reaching these shores.

“People have watched this disease spread in Europe for the best part of 10 years. Perhaps if stopping it coming to this country had been taken more seriously then we would have had more chance of delaying it,” he said.

“But even then, if the spores are coming on the wind as is being said, I think it would just have been delay rather than prevention.”

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

16 November 2012

Source of ash disease at five NI sites traced to Europe

Posted Image
The ash dieback disease has been found in five sites in Northern Ireland

The Department of Agriculture believes it has traced the source of an outbreak of a disease which kills ash trees to an exporter of saplings on mainland Europe.

Five areas of woodland in counties Down and Antrim have been infected.

National Trust land at Runkerry on the north coast is one area affected.

So far 5,000 saplings have been burned down in a battle to contain the disease which has threatened the UK's ash trees.

The chief executive of the Forestry Service, Malcolm Beatty, said he is confident the outbreak can be contained.

"There's very little risk from one tree touching another tree, it's not that kind of disease," he said.

"It requires the fungus to produce a spore - that doesn't happen at this time of year.

"It happens in the summer time so we've got a period of time now where we can get on with the work, get the disease mopped up.

"There's very little risk but the imperative is to get it done before the trees come into leaf next spring."

Mr Beatty said the infected saplings had been planted last year.

The Chalara ash dieback disease, caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea, was found in imported ash saplings in counties Down and Antrim.

Samples sent for laboratory analysis revealed the disease.

Symptoms can include brown leaves, lesions, fungi and dark wood.

Statutory notices have been served on the owners of the plantations requiring affected plants to be destroyed.

The Department of Agriculture and and Rural Development (DARD) said it was also investigating a number of other sites planted with imported ash saplings as part of an ongoing surveillance programme.

DARD Minister Michelle O'Neill said immediate steps were being taken to remove the plants and prevent the disease.

"The saplings and debris will be destroyed by burning and this work has already commenced. We have alerted our colleagues in the south and are continuing to work closely with them," she said.

"Legislation was introduced north and south last month banning the import and movement of ash plants for planting from infected areas.

"However, we must remain vigilant as this disease still poses a very serious threat."

The disease has infected some 90% of the species in Denmark, and is threatening the UK's ash population.

It has also been discovered in the Irish Republic.

The first confirmed case in the UK was recorded at a nursery in Buckinghamshire back in March 2012.

A ban on ash imports and the movement of trees from areas with confirmed cases of dieback came into force on 29 October.

Researchers have said the affected trees in woodlands in the south of England were likely to have become infected as a result of coming into contact with Chalara fraxinea spores that had been blown over from mainland Europe.

Forest Service chief executive Malcolm Beattie said the infected saplings had been planted last year before the ban came in.

"These trees were brought into Northern Ireland before anyone became aware of the disease," he said.

UUP MLA Robin Swann, a member of Stormont's Agriculture Committee, said confirmation of the disease in Northern Ireland was "simply dreadful".

He said he would be seeking answers from DARD and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Forestry Commission in Great Britain has issued guidance on how to identify the disease.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ash dieback disease suspected in private gardens for first time

Trees suspected of being infected with the killer ash dieback fungus have been found in privately owned gardens for the first time.

Posted Image
The ash: under threat Photo: ALAMY

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
17 Nov 2012

Plant health inspectors are due to visit at least two domestic gardens where ash trees are showing signs of being infected by the Chalara fraxinea fungus to carry out tests before the cases will be officially confirmed.

Initial inspections using photographs have, however, raised fears that the disease has already found its way into home owners' gardens.

Until now it had only been found in Forestry Commission land, commercial forests and at nurseries.

The potential that outbreaks of the fungus have been found in domestic trees will be grim news for gardeners who have been hoping they might so far be spared the kind of widespread devastation that was caused by Dutch elm disease during the 1970s and 1980s.

Ash dieback has now been officially confirmed at 200 sites around the UK, including the first cases to be found in Northern Ireland in imported saplings that had been planted at five sites in County Down and County Antrim.

The Telegraph has also established that the disease has been found in six publicly owned Forestry Commission woodlands, including one of the largest lowland forests in England.

Toby Hammond, from the University of East Anglia which is running the ashtag.org website for the public to report suspected cases of ash dieback before they are analysed by experts, said signs of the disease in gardens will worry many householders.

He said: “We have received hundreds of reports over the past couple of weeks and we have had experts examining them to identity those that are likely to be Chalara. We have so far identified 45 sites that are likely to have the disease.

“These now need to be confirmed by the plant health inspectors from the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

“There are two likely cases that have been found in back gardens, one of which is in west London. I suspect trees have been infected for some time and it could have arrived here up to five years ago which would explain why it is now so widespread.”

The disease has been found at 17 nurseries, 67 sites where young trees had been recently planted and 116 areas where adult trees have been found to be infected in established wood or similar areas.

A spokesman for Defra said no cases of Chalara had yet been confirmed in private gardens.

Among those are seven publicly owned forests run by the Forestry Commission, including two sites in Thetford Forest, in Norfolk, one of the biggest lowland forests in England with more than 19,000 hectares of woodland.

Rendlesham Wood, a 1,500 hectare forest in Suffolk, Theberton Wood, a 25 hectare patch of woodland in Suffolk, Eggringe Wood, which forms part of a stretch of woodland on the Kent Downs covering 1,598 hectares, and the 400 hectare Elham Park wood in east Kent, have all been found with infected ash trees.

It is thought that all of the infected trees in these locations are mature and will not be destroyed immediately as they can take several years to die and provide valuable refuge for rare insects.

In public areas or in gardens, however, trees may need to be cut down as they succumb if they begin to pose a danger.

Earlier this year the Forestry Commission had to destroy 50,000 saplings at Dalbeatie Forest in Dumfries and Galloway after they were found to be infected with Chalara.

A Defra spokesman said: “The Forestry Commission investigates all potential sightings of chalaza that are reported by Ashtag.”

source: Posted Imageelegraph.co.uk
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Selina Scott’s Jubilee wood at risk of deadly ash dieback

Selina Scott, the broadcaster, fears having to destroy 5,000 ash trees, planted on her farm as part of the Jubilee celebrations, due to the deadly Chalara fungus.

Posted Image
Selina Scott fears she will have to destroy the saplings she planted on her North Yorkshire farmland Photo: GUZELIAN

By Claire Duffin, 18 Nov 2012

When Selina Scott planted a wood at her farm as part of the Jubilee celebrations in April, she hoped it would bring pleasure for generations to come.

But the former broadcaster now faces having to destroy 5,000 of the trees amid concerns they are infected with the deadly ash dieback disease.

The ash saplings, planted along with other varieties - including oak, birch, alder and wild cherry, have yet to be tested for the Chalara fraxinea fungus but Ms Scott, 60, said the “picture looked grim”.
.
She said: “It was a wonderful feeling to put something into the earth that future generations will enjoy and which will give protection to wildlife and fauna as well as delight the eye.

“Of course I knew I wouldn’t live to see them reach maturity but just knowing how they would enrich the countryside in this part of the world gave me enormous pleasure and satisfaction.”

Ms Scott, a former ITV and BBC newsreader, has lived at the farm in Hambleton Hill, north Yorkshire, for 10 years.

She rears goats to make Angora socks and had already planted orchards and miles of hedgerow when she decided to plant a woodland - one of hundreds of created across the country for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Ms Scott bought the saplings from a local nursery, with much of the £5,000 cost being met by grants from the English Woodland Scheme and the Woodland Trust.

She then enlisted the help of an under-13s rugby club for the planting.

At the time she said: “Before long, I intend my wood to be a picture. The wild cherry, hawthorn and blackthorn blossom will attract insects and smell heavenly.

“With luck, I might get to see lots of vibrant young oak, ash and alder trees emerge triumphant from their protective shelters.”

Ms Scott said she hoped to find out next week if her trees had the disease.

She said: “I have been in touch with the Woodland Trust and they are very concerned and will be advising me next week but from what they know of my situation they say the picture looks grim.

“It’s devastating. The nursery where I bought the saplings seem unable to tell me whether they came from Holland or not but I fear anyway that I will have to cut them all down and dig up the roots.

“That’s the message the conservationists are giving out. Can you imagine what a heartache that will be?”

source: Posted Imageelegraph.co.uk
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Call for levy on Kilkenny hurleys

Monday 19 November 2012

There was a light-hearted exchange between Senators in the Seanad during a discussion on the new killer ash dieback disease.

Galway Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh suggested as a pre-Budget submission that the Government put a levy on hurleys in Kilkenny to balance the competition across the country.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh also thanked Kilkenny Senator Pat O’Neill for stopping the rumour going around Galway that Brian Cody and his team had something to do with the spread of the disease in Galway, Tipperary, Meath and Leitrim.

Senator O’Neill responded that Kilkenny could pay such a levy with All-Ireland medals and he called on the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Deputy Shane McEntee to make a statement to the House in which he denied it was a Tipperary conspiracy to do with Kilkenny hurling because of the importance of the ash tree there.

On a more serious note, Senator O’Neill said he knew how important the timber industry, in particular the ash industry, was in Ireland, whether for making hurleys or furniture or for firewood.

The ash dieback disease spread rapidly through continental Europe and four or five cases had been discovered here in imported saplings.

“Is it possible to put in place a test for early diagnosis and, if so, will the Minister of State obtain funding from the Department to do so? It takes a while, perhaps a few years, for the disease to be noticed in a tree when the leaves fall off and the crown starts to die. This might be too late for the trees. We saw what happened with Dutch elm disease, which wiped out one variety of elm tree,” added Senator O’Neill.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ash dieback investigations at 36 sites

Published Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Investigations into the tree disease ash dieback are underway at 36 sites across Northern Ireland, the Forest Service has confirmed.

Posted Image
Ash trees in England affected by the disease. (© Getty)

Last week the Chalara disease was discovered at five sites in counties Antrim and Down.

More than 3,500 infected saplings at three of the sites have been destroyed.

Updating the Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, Forest Service Chief Executive Malcolm Beatty said an imported consignment of 22,000 saplings had been delivered from Scotland to 36 sites across NI - which official investigators are now visiting.

"All of these sites are currently being visited and inspected and, where necessary, containment and destruction orders served," said Mr Beatty.

"More than 3,500 infected saplings on three sites in Counties Down and Antrim have already been destroyed by burning and deep burial. When the disease was first confirmed we acted swiftly and vigorously to eradicate.

"As sites are confirmed, through laboratory testing, destruction notices are served for the infected saplings and associated debris to be burned or deep buried.

"The risk of spread at this time year is low and our surveillance will continue, taking in recently planted sites of ash in public and private woodland, roadside plantings, established trees, hedgerows and nurseries."

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

College staff find first North Wales case of ash dieback

by Andrew Forgrave, DPW West, Nov 22 2012

THE first case of ash dieback in North Wales has been found at Glynllifon agricultural college.

A college employee found symptoms on a tree at a newly-planted site and samples sent off for analysis confirmed the deadly tree fungus.

It is one of six new sites in Wales now known to have chalara dieback.

Yesterday Forestry Commission Wales revealed that five sites in the Wentwood and Wye Valley areas also have the disease.

All the young trees on these sites have been destroyed as a precaution.

Earlier this month chalara was confirmed in a small, newly-planted site in Carmarthenshire.

Environment minister John Griffiths told the Senedd yesterday the Welsh Government was taking the disease “very seriously”.

It is working with rural ministry Defra and the devolved administrations to deliver a UK response.

“Tree diseases do not respect country boundaries and we need to provide a consistent approach to this threat,” he said.

FCW has completed an “unprecedented” rapid survey of government woodlands in Wales.

A survey of private estates is due to finish by Christmas.

Walkers and gardeners are being asked not to move ash leaves and to remove mud from boots, bikes, cars and even dogs.

source: dailypost.co.uk
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

FF calls for strong enforcement of measures to prevent ash dieback spread

A survey on sites with imported ash plants over the last four years is expected in the coming weeks.

Posted Image
General view of a young Common Ash Tree which shows the symptoms of the deadly plant pathogen fungus.
Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

FIANNA FÁIL SPOKESPERSON on Agriculture, Éamon Ó Cuív TD, today called for rigorous implementation of government policy in relation to the ash dieback disease.

The disease, which is widespread across continental Europe and Britain spread to Ireland with the first finding confirmed last month in Leitrim.

In the Dáil last week, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said the consignment, made up of some 30,000 plants imported from continental Europe was planted over 11 sites.

The ash trees at each of these 11 sites were cut and destroyed by burning last month.

Protective measures

Measures have been put in place including making it an offence to import plants from areas known to have the disease.

Furthermore, the movement of plants within the country is now also subject to plant passport requirements and legislation was introduced which control ash wood movement into Ireland, including firewood and hurley ash.

Ó Cúiv said he welcomed the measures that have been introduced but said it is important that there is “rigorous implementation” of the measures to ensure the ash forests in Ireland are protected.

The Fianna Fáil TD also urged the government to engage with the main importers of ash trees in Ireland.

“Businesses that import or use ash need to be informed of the emergency measures the government has introduced, they need to be fully aware of what is required of them in order to limit the risk of the disease spreading further in Ireland,” he said.

Cross border cooperation

Last week the first outbreak of ash dieback was confirmed at five sites in Northern Ireland and a number of other sites are also being investigated.

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine told TheJournal.ie that the Minister has been in constant contact with Northern authorities on the matter.

“This is something we’re looking at as an all country issue and we’re working with the authorities in the North,” he said.

A survey by the department on imported ash plants around the country over the last four years is underway and the spokesperson said the department will appraise the findings when it is complete.

The results of the survey are expected in the next couple of weeks.

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

No quick fix for ash trees

Saturday 24th November 2012

By Kimberly Middleton

Posted Image
Rob Greenland says there could be benefits from ash dieback

The man who led Brighton and Hove’s escape from the scourge of Dutch elm disease has a new fight on his hands.

Ash dieback has been reported to be threatening to decimate the country’s 80 million ash trees.

The city’s arboricultural manager told reporter Kimberly Middleton how staff are working together to keep Brighton and Hove disease free.

In Denmark up to 90% of ash trees have been devastated by ash dieback, sparking obvious panic when the disease was first reported in the UK.

But for Rob Greenland and his fellow arboriculturalists – who cultivate, manage and study trees – the furore around the disease, known to professionals as chalara, has been “very odd”.

They have watched ash dieback – or “just another disease” as they describe it, “tramp its way across Europe for the last 20 odd years”.

Mr Greenland, Brighton and Hove City Council’s arboricultural manager, said: “In the last ten years we have had more tree diseases than you can shake a stick at.”

Currently two reports of ash dieback are being investigated in East Sussex.

The first confirmed case was on November 6 in woodland between Horsham and Haywards Heath.

In comparison, chestnut trees are currently being attacked by three types of disease and several oaks in Preston Park and a beech in Stanmer Park have all succumbed to decay fungus.

But for the man who has been managing Brighton’s trees since 1967, and led the successful battle against Dutch elm disease that eventually led to the city being named as having the national collection of the trees, it is all part of the job.

He compares it to the common cold – we’re all susceptible to disease.

Frail or elderly

For the frail or elderly it might be deadly, but most people will fight it off and continue to live a healthy life.

When Dutch elm disease started spreading between trees, the sticky fungus spores being carried on beetles, it posed a serious threat to Brighton and Hove.

But the obvious spread of the disease on the insects is drastically different from ash dieback, with the way it spread still not very well known, according to Mr Greenland.

He said: “Compared with visible beetles carrying elm disease, with chalara we’re trying to deal with tiny fungal spores.”

The elm-lined streets would have drastically changed if the elm endemic in the 1970s was allowed to take hold.

Mr Greenland said: “The treescape of Brighton would have altered massively.

“We put together a cost of defeat which was £1 million – which transposes to up to £22 million today.

“That was the physical cost of cutting down trees, grinding out stumps and replanting.

“But what we couldn’t put a price on was the visual amenity cost and what that would have meant to the town.

“It would have wiped out whole areas of elm trees in Brighton and Hove, especially on our streets.

“You can’t go down many streets without finding a large contingent of elm trees.”

Fight continues

The beetles can only burrow into dying or recently dead elm trees so the professionals make sure any likely candidates are removed before they become breeding grounds.

And the fight is still continuing, with up to three cases found during a long and hot summer and any reports being taken very seriously.

Road sweepers have joined the front line of the continued battle, having been given visual indicators of elm disease to report back to Brighton’s arboriculturalists, along with any other problems they spot.

Mr Greenland said: “The mainstay, and still is to this day, is there is no point in us taking trees out of streets and parks if Mrs Blog’s tree in the back garden is going to produce beetles and re-infect others.

“We went to the city council and still to this day we, the council, pay for the private sector to cut down diseased elm trees.

“Without that people wouldn’t have admitted their trees were diseased because they couldn’t afford, or just didn’t want to pay, the cost. It was a major success.

“Ash dieback could be dealt with quite similarly.”

If ash trees started dying the dramatic differences would be seen in the woods.

As they do not line the streets like elm trees do, Mr Greenland said the effect in the city would be “negligible”.

Mr Greenland said: “Our decision at the moment is to not combat ash dieback in woodland.

“For wildlife and things there are even benefits to having species wiped out so the next generation can come through and may be even better for wildlife.

“Most of the woodlands we see around are planted by man anyway, they are not ancient.

“If you leave it to nature it’s survival of the fittest.”

Identify signs

Trying to identify signs of the disease has been fraught with difficulty and Mr Greenland said the media and public interest has come at a difficult time.

“One of the symptoms of ash dieback is the effect on the leaves, which mimics autumn,” he said.

“For the last month leaves have been discolouring with the season.”

Brighton’s arboriculturalists will be keeping a close eye on the ash trees when they come into leaf again in the spring to spot for signs of the disease.

The infection causes the leaves of the ash trees to die back as well as causing diamond-shaped lesions, especially around the leaf shoots from the trunk.

There is an ash tree in Stanmer Park which defoliated quickly this autumn and will be first on the list to be checked in the spring.

Mr Greenland said: “From a professional point of view we tend to step back a little bit rather than do a knee-jerk reaction.

“If we get the disease in the city we will deal with park trees because we need to prevent them from becoming a public safety hazard.

“But in the woodland we will allow it to run its course.”

source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ash dieback one of ten 'epidemic' tree pests and diseases

Tuesday 27 November 2012

At least ten tree diseases and pests are now ‘epidemic’ in Britain, including ash dieback, according to a Government adviser.

Posted Image
A total of 19 pests and diseases are now attacking trees in the UK, of which 10 are considered to be at the ‘epidemic stage’. Photo: Matt Cardy/GETTY

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent

Dr Joan Webber, Head of Tree Health at the Forestry Commission, said ash dieback is just the latest disease or pest to be so virulent it threatens to wipe out a species.

She said that a total of 19 pests and diseases are now attacking trees in the UK, of which 10 are considered to be at the ‘epidemic stage’.

At least a further 11 deadly diseases are a potential threat “on the horizon”.

The first really dangerous disease to enter the country was Dutch elm disease (DED), that was first spotted in the UK in the 1920s and killed off even more trees in the 1960s and 70s.

The spread of Dutch elm disease, that destroyed millions of the country’s elms, will be compared to the outbreak of ash dieback in The Long View on Radio 4 today (Tues).

Dr Webber pointed out Dutch elm disease came in via logs.

It possibly came in the huge import of timber, men and machinery to the UK after the First World War.

Like ash dieback, it is thought the disease originally came from Japan.

Nowadays timber is heat treated and bark stripped off but the UK is more in danger than ever from diseases because of the growth in the trade of live plants.

Dr Webber said many of the pests and diseases imported into the country threaten to wipe out native or exotic species.

“You are not talking about hundreds of trees but thousands and hundreds of thousands, with some of the worst organisms you are talking about millions.”

Dr Webber said there are now 10 tree diseases that are epidemic:

1) Dutch elm disease arrived in two waves in the 1920s and 1960s and destroyed most of the country’s elm trees. The second, more lethal pathogen, is still at large in the countryside killing off mature trees.

2) Alder phytophthora is killing alders along our riversides. Up to a quarter of alders are already infected by the disease or dead.

3) Red band needle blight or dothistroma needle blight is a significant threat to conifer plantations. It was first found in Corsican pine the 1950s in East Anglia but is now across the country and threatening the native Scots pine.

4) Sudden oak death or phytophthora ramorum is widespread across south-west England, Wales and south-west Scotland. Despite the name, it affects mostly Japanese larch trees. Already more than four million have been felled to try and stop the spread of the disease.

5) Bleeding canker is now found in half the country’s horse chestnut or conker trees, according to the Forestry Commission. It will weaken the tree until it dies or has to be felled for health and safety reasons.

6) Phytophthora lateralis threatens to wipe out Lawson cypress, a popular ornamental tree in many stately homes. It has killed trees in western Scotland, Yorkshire, the South West and Wales.

7) Phytophthora austrocedrae kills native juniper, a tree that conservationists are trying to re-establish after going extinct in many areas. The disease has killed juniper in the Lake District in Scotland.

8) Chestnut leaf miner is a moth that is now in most conker trees. Although it does not necessarily kill the tree it will weaken it and can kill in combination with bleeding canker. It also makes conkers smaller.

9) Phytophthora pseudosyringae kills the southern beech tree. Although the tree is not widespread in the UK it was hoped it could spread as the climate becomes warmer but is in danger of being wiped out by this disease.

10) Ash dieback, known as Chalara Fraxinea, is now in 222 sites around the UK. In other countries is has infected 90 per cent of ash trees and could wipe out a huge proportion of Britain’s 92 million ash trees.

Dr Webber said there are other diseases that may not be epidemic but are more of a “slow burn”, killing off species slowly.

Perhaps the most worrying are Acute Oak Death, that kills oaks quickly and Chronic Oak Death, that kills the trees most slowly.

Both diseases are thought to be made worse by environmental stress and are slowly spreading from the Midlands and South East across Britain.

They attack the roots and eventually kill the tree.

Dr Webber said there are a number of relatively new diseases, where it is not clear how they will affect a species.

Chestnut blight, that has killed off the species in the US and Europe, has been found in a number of sites in Britain recently and could affect our sweet chestnuts.

Phytophthora kernoviae kills beech trees, although it is hoped the disease can be controlled by culling the host species rhododendron. It also affects bilberries and other native heathland plants.

A number of insects are also weakening trees.

The oak processionary moth that causes caterpillars with toxic hairs to fall from trees is widespread in oak trees in London.

The spruce bark beetle, threatens our most commercial tree species, but can be controlled by putting down another species of beetle that kills the pest.

The endemic pine weevil and pine lappet moth are also attacking conifer plantations.

The exotic Asian longhorn beetle, that threatens a number of species including willow, birch and poplar, was recently found in Kent but the Forestry Commission hope to eradicate the insect.

Dr Webber said a number of worrying diseases are on the horizon.

Plane wilt, that is widespread in France, would wipe out the plane tree so popular in cities including London.

Oak wilt is also a threat. Sweet chestnut gall is another threat to this species.

Citrus long-horn beetle has already been intercepted a number of times at border posts and poses a serious threat to a number of species.

The 8-toothed European Spruce Bark Beetle and spruce budworm are more threats to conifer plantations.

Brown Spot needle blight, pine pitch canker and pine wilt also threaten conifers.

The emerald ash borer and bronze birch borer have caused havoc in the US.

Source: Posted Imageelegraph.co.uk
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ash dieback poses threat

LONDON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The British government has asked that property owners either remove or trim branches from ash trees that are suffering from dieback fungus.

If the trees are not dealt with, property owners could face lawsuits if someone is injured by a falling branch or tree, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Ash dieback has been found at 257 sites around the country and experts say it will gradually spread to most of the United Kingdom's 92 million ash trees.

Mike Seville, the forestry and woodland adviser at the Country Land and Business Association, said it will cost about $800 to make trees safe by employing tree surgeons to take off branches or fell trees.

"As the tree falls to pieces there is going to be some significant costs," Seville said.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Ash tree disease in Britain spreading

Dec. 6, 2012

LONDON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The number of sites harboring a disease decimating Britain's ash trees has doubled in a month as the country battles the deadly fungus, researchers say.

The number of infected sites has reached 291, prompting Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to announce a national plan intended to control Chalara Fraxinea, responsible for so-called ash dieback disease, The Guardian reported Thursday.

A ban on the import or movement of ash trees will remain in place, he said, adding the government is considering appointing a "tree czar" to serve as the country's chief plant health officer.

"The plan I have set out today shows our determination to slow the spread and minimize the impact of Chalara," said Paterson, who acknowledged last month the impossibility of complete eradicating the fungus. "It will also give us time to find those trees with genetic resistance to the disease and to restructure our woodlands to make them more resilient."

The fungus, first seen in Britain in February in a tree imported from the Netherlands to a nursery in Buckinghamshire, has now been identified at 136 sites linked to imported plants and a further 155 sites in the wild.

The government's plan to deal with the fungus has met with some criticism.

"The limited actions and weak commitments set out in the plan will not be enough to control the spread of the disease -- it's far too little, too late," Simon Pryor, director of the natural environment at the National Trust, said. "We are alarmed to see the government is even wavering about continuing its program of tracing, testing and destroying infected young ash trees. It is also disappointing to see the government is proposing almost no action in areas of the country already infected."

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

12 December 2012

Ash dieback: Chalara fungus 'originated in Asia'

By Ania Lichtarowicz
BBC Radio Science Unit

Posted Image

An increasing body of evidence suggests that ash dieback - the disease which has killed trees across Europe and is now in Britain - originated in Japan.

Some scientists say the fungus now ravaging trees across Europe is the same as a native species from Japan.

However, the Asian version of the fungus seems to cause no harm to the local Manchurian ash trees there.

Researchers speaking to the Radio 4 programme The Tree Scientists described the misidentification of the fungus.

Recent figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that there are almost 300 confirmed cases of ash dieback in Britain.

The fungus has spread across Europe over 20 years, threatening many of the continent's ash trees - and was first seen in nurseries in Britain in spring 2012.

The symptoms of ash dieback were first seen in Lithuania and Poland 20 years ago.

But it was not until 2006 that scientists identified that it was a fungus killing so many ash trees.

Prof Adam Hart, who presents The Tree Scientists, travelled to Poland to find out how scientists discovered what was happening.

Forest-felling fungus

Wloszczowa is a small town north of the mediaeval city of Krakow. It was here that forest rangers realised that the death of their ash trees was not being caused by frost damage, as had been previously assumed.

Artur Ratusznik, district forest manager for the region of Wloszczowa, decided to send samples to his former professor, Tadeusz Kowalski at the Agricultural University of Krakow, to see if he could identify what was killing the Ash trees.

"It all started when I was given affected samples from the nurseries in Wloszczowa," Prof Kowalski said.

"We could see the same symptoms in all the samples - there was a light centre at the site of infection, which is often where the branch grows out from the stem, then this was surrounded by a darker band - that's the plants defence fighting the infection. I managed to grow the fungus that was causing this infection in a Petri dish."

Prof Kowalski named the new fungal species Chalara fraxinea - but as the disease spread across the continent, he realised that something was not quite right.

"I couldn't quite put my finger on it; I couldn't see the whole picture," he said.

"I realised that Chalara fraxinea was just one stage in the life cycle of this fungus and that we were missing the other parts of this life cycle. So I decided to look more closely, and after searching and searching the forest floor near infected ash trees, I found something.

"But our initial identification of this new sample was wrong - this fungus was incredibly similar to an already commonly found fungus in Europe. But it couldn't be that one, so we had to look again - and eventually we got it."

Japanese origins

There is now more and more data emerging to show that Chalara fraxinea is not a European native species and could have come from Asia - including a recent paper in the journal Mycotaxon.

Posted Image
Infected tree numbers appear to have doubled in the UK in a month

Joan Webber, principal pathologist at the Forestry Commission, told the programme:

"Scientists working together in Japan and Germany have been looking at a fungus associated with native ash trees in Japan. And what they've found is that this fungus appears to be the same one causing ash dieback in Europe and now in Britain."

So it seems that Chalara fraxinea originated in Japan or Korea, where it co-exists with native ash trees and does not appear to damage them.

Somehow the fungus has moved into Europe and as European native ash trees have not evolved with it, they are not resistant to its effects - and are dying in huge numbers.

Prof Kowalski agrees.

He says the fungus is too deadly to have evolved in Europe.

"My colleagues and I have come to the conclusion that this fungus cannot be native - it's just far too aggressive," he said.

"Currently when it infects a nursery for instance, it kills all of the saplings, by killing its host it ultimately leads to its own demise and itself dies out. A successful fungus co-exists with its host tree, so they will both survive."

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
ZetaBoards gives you all the tools to create a successful discussion community.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Horticulture · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Skin by OverTheBelow