Norfolk Wildlife Trust has collaborated with important research which identifies a tree in its
wood in Ashwellthorpe which is resistant to Ash Dieback disease.
Chalara dieback of ash is a serious disease of ash trees caused by a fungus called
Chalara fraxinea (C. fraxinea). The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees, and it can lead to tree death. The discovery of genetic resistant trees, like the one in NWT Lower Wood, Ashwellthorpe, could offer hope in developing a strain of trees which are tolerant to the disease.
Woods Officers for Norfolk Wildlife Trust were the first to alert Forestry Commission’s Plant Health Team of Chalara dieback of ash in the wild in 2012. They provided samples for DNA testing to track the spread of the disease across the county.
More recently the team has assisted scientists from the John Innes Centre by providing DNA samples for research into genetic markers and also allowed the centre to use two NWT sites for research.
Senior Woods Officer at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Steve Collin said: “Norfolk Wildlife Trust was the first to find Ash Dieback in the wild and we have worked since to devise strategies to mitigate the effects of Chalara in our ancient woods. At this point in the research the tree is vulnerable and we have gone to considerable lengths to keep the location of the disease resistant tree a secret for its protection.”
Lower Wood, Ashwellthorpe is one of Norfolk’s few remaining ancient woodlands and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The name Ashwellthorpe is evidence of an early settlement, perhaps of Danish origin and hints that the ash trees have been part of the landscape here for over a thousand years. Approximately 40% of the trees in Lower Wood are ash, with other species including oak, hazel, field maple, hornbeam, black thorn and hawthorn.