Charles: All our trees are at risk of killer disease
FOREIGN pests and diseases are threatening the health of all of Britain’s trees, Prince Charles has said.
Dutch Elm disease has already all but wiped out native elm trees.
But while many may have heard of the blight, the Prince of Wales warned there has been a ‘rapid increase’ in other threats to the nation’s trees – yet the public’s awareness of these is ‘frighteningly low’.
In an editorial published in Country Life magazine to mark his 69th birthday next week, Charles spoke of his sorrow at watching his own elms die.
‘I planted an avenue of them at Highgrove and then watched, miserably, as many of them succumbed,’ he said.
‘Losing almost every sizable English elm from our countryside was such a profound change that I suspect every Country Life reader will have heard of Dutch Elm disease. The wider problem is that a great many more pests and diseases are now seriously threatening the health of all our native trees, yet public awareness of this seems to be frighteningly low.’
The prince, who also revealed larch trees in the Duchy of Corn- wall were affected by a fungus while ash dieback struck at Highgrove, said the ‘threats to our trees are extremely serious and far-reaching’.
Dutch Elm disease, which is caused by a fungus, was accidentally brought to the UK from the USA on imported logs. It is named and after Dutch research on it.
Other threats include the Asian Longhorn beetle, which is already present in Kent and harms many types of broad-leaved trees, the oak processionary moth from southern Europe, which is found in London and neighbouring counties, and the emerald ash borer, a beetle from eastern Asia not yet in the country but which would strike trees already decimated by the ash dieback fungus.
Prince Charles said trees ‘ contribute to our well-being’ as well as providing fuel and fruit, soaking up greenhouse gases and preventing soil erosion and flooding.
He added: ‘ The benefits of healthy trees are clear, which is why we should all be seriously alarmed by the recent rapid increase in tree pests and diseases in this country.’
He said climate change ‘makes the United Kingdom ever more suitable for warmth-loving organ- isms’ and that the trade of plants increases the risk of such bugs being transported here. Around 350,000 tonnes of plants worth £1.4billion are imported each year.
The prince called for tougher border controls for plants, adding that anyone involved in importing them ‘should understand the threats and be asking questions about plant health, including the urgent necessity for quarantine periods’.