Ash Dieback - An Update for West Alvington

The following information has been received from the local Tree Warden Group:

You may have noticed the gradual appearance of red crosses on ash trees along the A379 between our village and Kingsbridge over the last few months. These are trees that have become a hazard to the highway because of Ash Die Back and Devon County Council Highways department will be felling many of these trees over the winter period.

I am afraid that Devon has seen a massive increase in Ash Die Back this summer with the South Hams, West Devon and Mid Devon seeing the worst outbreaks. The situation is expected to get even worse next year as trees take time to totally succumb to this disease. However ash is also prevalent in our hedgerows and these will also be affected and as a consequence we can anticipate that our landscape will alter radically over the next few years. So what can we do to help?

Firstly we need to act now to minimise the landscape impact of ash tree loss. We should start promoting new trees and taking better care of existing ones. A small percentage of ash trees will be found to be resistant, or partially resistant, to the disease and scientists are also trying to breed genetically resistant ash. But with an expected 90% of ash likely to be affected the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum (made up of a number of organisations - DCC, Wildlife Trusts, Farming Organisations, Hedgelink, National Trust to name a few) have been working on a plan over the last 3 years to suggest ways to reduce the diseases impact.

The groups main request is to ask that everyone uses the 3/2/1 formula. If any of your diseased ash trees (or any tree) needs to be felled: then can you plant at least 3 new trees for the loss of a large tree, 2 for a medium tree and 1 new tree for a small tree. It is also suggested that we should promote natural regeneration wherever possible, particularly in copses and woodlands. But everyone agrees that this will not be enough on its own. We have to make sure we build a more resilient landscape with a diverse range of trees as there are other diseases that are expected to arrive over the next decade.

Unfortunately no one species of tree on its own can substitute for ash but it is estimated that 75% of organisms that live in ash trees can also live in the sycamore, a tree that is usually uprooted and cast aside as a nuisance and weed, but this species could offer a lifeline for those organisms that lose their natural home. Aspen, alder, field maple, birch, rowan and the new disease resistant elm, along with native oaks have similar traits to ash and could join the mix. Other options for wildlife, landscape and wood fuel are wild pear, crab apple or white willow. Unfortunately the 25% of creatures that only live on ash will probably die out to add to the general loss of biodiversity on the planet.

However this does not answer the main question for anyone with an ash tree on their land - what should I do? The Tree Council has just published an excellent document on line for homeowners and those with ash trees on their land which you can download. Go to www.treecouncil.org.uk . Click on Science and Research. Click on Ash Dieback and then scroll down to public guidance. This document has all the information that you need and explains your responsibilities. The SHDC website www.southhams.gov.uk also has information specifically about trees. Put Ash Dieback in the search box and you will find a page focussing just on this disease; put in tree maintenance and it will tell you how to find out who is responsible for any tree; put in protected trees and you will find rules pertaining to all trees. These 3 pages will give you all you could possibly want to know about rules and regulations relating to trees in your area.