Monday 29 October 2012

Killer fungus in Britain


Fight to save a third of Britain's trees from killer fungus
A desperate fight has begun to save a third of Britain’s trees from a killer fungus which threatens to bring devastation to the country’s forests.


28 October, 2012

Ministers took urgent steps to address the deadly ash dieback disease — the greatest threat to British woodland since the Dutch elm disease of the 1970s.


The disease has already devastated ash across the Continent and is now at the centre of a major alert in this country.


In a series of developments:


* Officials admitted for the first time that around 100,000 trees have been burnt in an attempt to control the disease. Until yesterday no such action had been acknowledged;

* Ministers introduced a ban on bringing ash trees into Britain or transporting saplings around the country, which comes into force on Sunday;

* A Government taskforce was launched to deal with the crisis, with more than 100 officials working full-time on it. Forestry Commission staff have been taken off normal duties to help;

* Critics began to question the speed of the official response after it emerged that the first British case was found eight months ago.

The disease has now been found throughout the UK and ministers from all three governments are now involved in the response......

A third of all British woodland trees are of the ash family. The disease will devastate the landscape because if it spreads the trees will either die and rot or have to be destroyed, leaving huge gaps in forests and harming the wider eco-system, as they provide homes for birds, insects and mammals.


Austin Brady, head of conservation at the Woodland Trust, said ash dieback could devastate Britain’s landscape. “The woods that are of more concern are the rarer woodlands in the peak district national park where the ash is dominant,” Mr Brady. 


They are listed as some of the most important ash woods in Europe.


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