National Trust

A MONTH after announcing the devastation being caused by an acceleration of ash dieback across its woods, the National Trust has issued images of the impact of the disease.

These clearly show the dying ash trees in Hanging Wood on the Hughenden Estate in Buckinghamshire, part of the 460 hectares of Chilterns woodland that the conservation charity cares for.

About 300 trees on the estate which pose a risk to public safety will be felled this year with others left to die and decay naturally to create homes for wildlife.

The trust estimates that 40,000 ash trees on land it cares for will need to be chopped down over the next few months, costing millions of pounds.

Ash trees form up to 20 per cent of woodland in Britain. Between 75 and 95 per cent of all ash trees will be lost in the next 20 to 30 years, with an estimated
2.5 million trees on National Trust land alone.

Neil Harris, countryside manager for the trust, says: “The stark reality of the impact of ash dieback on our countryside is very visible at this time of year.

“This deadly disease is killing many of the trees in our woodland.

“Some of our woodland had previously been ravaged by tree loss back in January 1990 when severe storms uprooted hundreds of large beech trees.

“Fast-growing ash trees quickly filled the gaps where these giants had fallen and it’s these younger ash trees which are being affected the most.

“One of the additional issues we now face is the length of time it will take other types of native trees to re-colonise where ash trees have to be felled, given that replanting with ash is no longer a viable option until resistant strains have been confirmed.

“It’s vital that we replace ash with a wider range of appropriate tree species to ensure continuity of habitat and provide all the other benefits of trees and woodland, including carbon sequestration and the simple pleasure many people take in visiting them.

“The loss of ash adds further impetus to the trust’s ambition to establish 20 million new trees on land in our care by 2030.

“The one positive is that so far we’ve found that older trees grown in more open areas seem to be more resilient to the disease.

“When the trees do die they become very brittle and therefore difficult to fell, which is why it is important to remove those bordering paths as a priority.

“We will leave many in the thick of the woodland to die naturally so that they can provide habitats for wildlife as they decay.”

Ash dieback is caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus.

It originated in Asia and spread due to the movement of plants as part of the global trade. The fungus spreads quickly as its spores are windborne.

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
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