IT’S GOING to be like living on Shetland. That’s what I keep thinking. There’s a reason I’ve never visited those islands, despite their many charms, and that’s because they have no trees.
OK, maybe there are a handful of hardy, stunted creatures fighting against the elements (I’m talking about trees, not the locals), but you’re unlikely find yourself skipping through bluebell-filled woodlands. As a confirmed tree-hugger, the ash dieback crisis has sent me lurching into ‘we’re all doomed’ territory. Today it’s ash, tomorrow rowan and the day after oak. “Why can’t it be Leylandii?” mutters half the population, whose gardens are cast into eternal shade by neighbours’ hedges.
In the UK, 100,000 ash trees have been destroyed in an attempt control the spread of Chalara fraxinea, the fungus that causes various nasty symptoms and tends to end in the host tree’s death. It’s well-established in mainland Europe and has already killed 90 per cent of ash trees in Denmark. The British government has been accused of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted by banning ash imports after numerous cases have been confirmed, rather than when concerns were raised, several years ago. Whether you blame the government, lax biosecurity or importing ash saplings, things do not look rosy.
Dig a little deeper and we uncover a long list of unpleasant tree pests and diseases that are changing the make-up of our woodlands. Horse chestnut bleeding canker, acute oak decline and Phytophthora rub shoulders with the great spruce bark beetle and the Asian longhorn beetle. When infected trees are identified they’re usually destroyed, but control is a challenge. But what does the loss of trees mean to us? In the case of ash, we’ll be looking at the potential loss of a wood that’s said to be make the best firewood and is popular for creating furniture and, er, snooker cues. Then there is the wildlife that depends on the trees – including the dusky thorn moth and centre-barred sallow moth. ‘Adapt or die’ is fine on a bumper sticker, but depressing in real life.
The disappearing trees will be replaced as other species fill the gaps, but is there anything we can do to stop the decline? The Scottish Government explains that the import of many plants from non-EU countries is prohibited or restricted, to prevent the introduction of pests. Hooray! Importers “must ensure that consignments are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the plant health authority of the country of origin”. This certificate gets checked before the consignment gets through customs. Tragically, though, this border control doesn’t apply inside the EU. It’s up to the country of origin to take care of plant health and “there are no border checks for plants and plant products travelling between EC member states” (except for a few species that host the most serious ‘quarantine’ pests and diseases).
Is it me, or has someone not thought this through? If 90 per cent of Denmark’s ash trees have been killed off by a disease, why should EU membership mean its plant exports need not comply with the same high standards as non-Europeans? As usual, my advice is to buy local, whether you’re planting a community woodland or just a specimen tree in your garden. Scotland does have nurseries that grow plants from seed (TreeNurseryScotland.org.uk), so start there if you want to take the first step against imported diseases.
Meanwhile, the trees are being felled and burned, putting me rather in mind of Up Helly Aa. Prepare to be Shetland-ised.