Tree Health
Trees are important:
Healthy, diverse, and expanding forests and woodland
in Wales are essential to the wellbeing of the people of Wales.
Trees help us in so many ways
They grow in places where people can connect with nature,
come together to work and enjoy the outdoors,
and find peace, health and well-being for mind and body.
They are practically the only way we have to lock away some of the carbon
that humans have emitted into the atmosphere.
They absorb other pollutants, cut down noise, improve air and soil quality,
slow flood waters
and act as a haven for biodiversity to flourish in.
Trees provide shelter for livestock and people,
and provide a genuinely renewable fuel and building resource.
Threats come in many guises, and always have a negative effect on the livelihoods of people in Wales.
Harmful insects like the emerald ash borer, or invasive plants like rhododendron.
Some threats are obvious, but others we can’t see, such as Ash Dieback and Ramorum Disease.
The main Threats, and what we can do
Ash Dieback is a fungal disease that is a serious threat to our ash tree population.
Its effect is likely to become more visible through the summer
with leaves turning brown or trees not coming back into leaf.
What you do
Please do not cut down your ash trees.
Some are likely to show tolerance to Ash Dieback disease
so leaving as many ash trees as possible
will give them a chance to fight off this disease.
Threat
Ramorum disease mainly kills larch trees,
and has resulted in the removal of 8,000 hectares of larch in Wales.
There IS also a real danger that this disease could mutate into a form that infects other kinds of tree,
on which the forest industry depends.
What you do
Comply with plant health notices, and cut affected larch trees down.
Threat
Trees bought in nurseries may have been grown abroad and could be carrying unknown pests and diseases.
What you do
Be a smart customer:
Ask your nursery where their trees have been grown.
Welsh Government supports nurseries that can offer guarantees that their stock is disease free.
Natural Resources Wales are increasing the resilience of the Welsh Government Woodland Estate
through more diverse planting, as we need to replace trees that have been infected.
You can do the same.
Be adventurous, try out new tree species.
Talk to NRW or Forest Research about what kinds of tree will grow well here in Wales.
If concerned, please contact NRW or Welsh Government for advice.
What Next?
Welsh and UK Governments are working hard to keep pests and diseases at bay
but everyone has a part to play.
We need our friends like CONFOR, Coed Cymru, Woodland Trust and you
to make sure our efforts are coordinated and not wasted.
Report tree diseases where these occur.
Use the Tree Alert tool at forestry.gov.uk/treealert.
Find out more about the NRW’s Biosecurity campaign, ‘Keep it Clean’.
You can make a huge difference to the spread of diseases like Ash Dieback by following simple advice,
“Leave the Forest in the Forest”.
For more information visit these websites.