Tree disease expected to kill up to 95% of all ash trees across the UK

By ITV reporter Amani Khan.

Today marks 10 years since the Government announced that Ash dieback had first been recorded in the UK.

The disease has had the most impact in the south-east of England. This is where it was first recorded in the UK back in 2012. But, it's now affecting trees across the whole country and has led to millions of Ash trees being felled in the last decade.

Milder, wetter winters could spell “dramatic changes” for the British countryside, the National Trust has warned, with 30,000 ash trees expected to be felled this winter due to disease.

Changed weather patterns caused by climate change are creating ideal conditions for diseases and pests to spread, the trust said.

Meanwhile, trees’ natural defences are more likely to be undermined due to the stress of drought, flooding and high temperatures that they are facing on a more regular basis.

The National Trust say up to 95% of all ash trees could be lost within the next 30 years. That equates to more than 150 million trees.

It's a fungus that kills the tree inside out and it needs to be removed because it can spread up to ten miles by wind. 

Efforts are being made to protect the future of ash trees. The Woodland Trust has closed off a large area at Avoncliff Wood to the public to see how the fungus develops over time.

The Government says they have invested just under £7million to advance scientific understanding of this disease.

Ash dieback isn't the only threat to our forests.

In the last 30 years at least 20 serious tree pests and diseases have been imported into the country, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of trees. 

Another concern is that Phythopthora pluvialis, another fungus-like pathogen first found in the US state of Oregon in 2013, was detected in Cornish woodlands in September this year – the first time it has been identified in the UK.

It also warned tens of thousands of larch trees will need to be felled due to the fungus-like pathogen Phythopthora ramorum, affecting iconic landscapes such as woodlands in the Lake District.

The National Trust estimates 95% of foresters’ time in the Lakes this year will be spent trying to tackle the disease, with three-quarters of woodland in some areas expected to lose larch.

At a Woodland Trust site in Yorkshire around two hundred larch trees have been infected with the disease. Three hectares of trees are due to be destroyed this summer at the Nidd Gorge site.

The Woodland Trust says the Government's plan to plant more trees will count for little if existing woodlands are lost. They're calling for tougher plant health checks for imports.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says protecting our country from pests and diseases is vital. In a statement they said:

"We work to stop tree pests and diseases before they arrive through international surveillance to spot new risks, take action at the border with stringent biosecurity checks on plant and wood imports, and have robust contingency plans to tackle the pests and diseases that do make it through."

In England, where the government has pledged to treble tree planting to 7,000 hectares a year by 2024 as part of climate and nature recovery efforts, some 2,200 hectares were planted in 2020/21, down slightly on the previous year.

But the reality is that British nurseries alone cannot meet that demand which is why imports are somewhat necessary. Johnsons of Whixley imports more than 5 million trees a year from the Netherlands. 

1.5 million hectares of additional woodland is needed to help reach targets of net zero carbon. But, if the goal is to tackle climate change, the risks of felling trees across our woodlands need to be lowered.