Trees in county will help to protect others

Ash tree samples from Derbyshire woodlands are being collected by Natural England as part of a national project to protect the tree species from being devastated by disease.

Natural England is playing a key role in helping secure the future of the ash tree by supporting the Living Ash Project. Including Future Trees Trust, the project is collecting samples of ash that show resistance to ash dieback.

Ash dieback is a fungus which originated in Asia and its introduction about 30 years ago has devastated the European ash. The disease is predicted to kill up to 80% of ash trees across the UK, changing the landscape forever and threatening many species which rely on ash.

Future Trees Trust is collecting samples from across the country to grow in its national archives including ash trees which show high tolerance to ash dieback. The samples will be used for breeding work, field trials and genetic research.

So far more than 1,000 tolerant ash trees have been sampled and planted within a public forest estate in Hampshire to start the first national archive.

The Trust is now gathering more samples from ash trees, showing a strong tolerance to ash dieback in the Derbyshire Dales and asked woodland site managers to keep track of any ash trees on their sites, where samples could be collected.

This included sites in the Peak District Dales, owned by the National Trust and Chatsworth Estate.

The sample collection in Derbyshire was supported by Natural England’s Life in the Ravines partnership, which is using EU Life funding to restore ravine woodlands in the Peak District Dales Special Area of Conservation (SAC), which is dominated by infected ash trees.

So far, the project has planted over 51,000 trees across the Peak District Dales SAC, restoring ravine woodlands in areas including the iconic five dales of the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve, such as the well-visited Lathkill.

Neil Ford, wooded habitats specialist at Natural England, said: “Ash Dieback is having a devastating impact across the country and on the ash dominated ancient woodlands of the Peak District Dales.

“The Life in the Ravines Project Partnership has been working hard to secure the future of these sensitive habitats through a systematic approach to replacing the thinning ash canopy with native trees species that once thrived in these special places.”

Leon Hayward, lead ranger for National Trust in the White Peak, and Life in the Ravines partner, said: “Ash dieback has severely impacted many of the woodlands in our care, including the much-loved woods of Dovedale National Nature Reserve.

“For years, we have been working to create healthier woodlands.”

John Everitt, forestry manager at Chatsworth Estate and LIFE in the Ravines partner, said: “We’re excited to hear more about the project’s next steps.”