The country is facing yet another environmental tragedy. As if our decline in butterflies and bees, the slow (in some cases rapid) erosion of the East coast and the general increase in the amounts of heatwaves we have were not enough, we are now faced with losing a vast percentage of our trees as well. Ash dieback is a terrible disease that could wipe almost all of the UK’s Ash trees. This sudden loss will have a devastating effect on the environment and the landscape. The many creatures that rely on the Ash tree as a domain will also struggle and could also be lost. It represents the most fundamental threat to trees since Dutch Elm disease ruined the tree population in the 1970s.

Ash dieback is a virulent fungus. Its Latin name is Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. It is not selective; it will attack any common ash tree regardless of its age. There is no cure for the disease, and it is currently endemic in the UK. It is believed that it came to us via Asia.

The tree leaves will show black patches in the summer, and lesions will start to appear by the following spring. The fungus will then begin to grow out of the lesions, and the tree will release new growth lower down. This new growth will not produce and is a sure sign the tree is in distress.

The only thing to do is to remove the tree and burn it. Trailer Parts from autoandtrailer.com/shop/trailer-parts may well be needed.