Chalara fraxinea is a disease that has decimated Ash tree
species throughout Northern Europe, already affecting over 90% of Ash
trees in Denmark and Sweden and is present as far as Belgium. Until
recently the UK was unaffected, but it now seems that imports of Ash
saplings have released the disease into the wild, and at least two
outbreaks have been spotted in wild woodland in Norfolk & Suffolk.
This is very bad news indeed. There are about 80m native Ash trees, making up 30% of our indigenous deciduous woodland, so there are very serious ecological consequences if the disease is not contained.
Spores can spread about 20 miles, and it could be as bad as the
Dutch elm disease which hit Britain in the 1970s and all but wiped out
that native tree species from our landscape. More about the science here.This is very bad news indeed. There are about 80m native Ash trees, making up 30% of our indigenous deciduous woodland, so there are very serious ecological consequences if the disease is not contained.
I wish I could check our Ash trees but virtually all the leaves have now come off now after we had strong winds a week ago. I went for a wander with my binoculars to see if I could spot any
lesions etc in the trees themselves, but as a lot of our trees are Ash
mixed in with other species, I couldn't really tell much.
I think I am just going to have to wait until new leaf burst in spring shows more signs of dieback ( if it is there in our wood) .
I think I am just going to have to wait until new leaf burst in spring shows more signs of dieback ( if it is there in our wood) .
Help identify ash trees with dieback disease by using the Ashtag app.
This is a really useful video of what to look for in Ash.
