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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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