A research project being carried out by the University of East Anglia has been studying the arboreal history of a sample of four English counties. The first lesson learnt is that the three major tree species were oak, Ash and elm. The second is that the dominance of these together with the less frequent species such as Beech, Cherry, limes, Hornbeam, Field Maple and Scots Pine are very likely due to human choice which in turn was based on practical and economic considerations at the time. It has also discovered that rural tree population were up until the mid-19th century, much more vigorously managed with much pollarding and coppicing being carried out and with timber trees likely to have been felled at an earlier age. It is considered that these practices may all have contributed to an overall healthier tree population.
During the last half century, this status quo has and is likely to continue to be adversely affected: modern intensive farm management; apart from within urban sanctuaries we have lost the elm as a tree; Ash is now under considerable attack from a recently arrived fungus and there are doubts about our oaks and disease. Waterside Alder has now been under fungal attack for some decades as is Horse Chestnut being plundered by a micro moth ‘breaking-out’ from Macedonia. Currently knocking at the UK’s door are: the Emerald Ash Borer, Sweet Chestnut blight, various conifer diseases and a suite of ‘alien’ insect pests.
If that were not enough, we still have our home grown tree diseases such as fungal plunderers and various blights. There is also the ‘elephant in the room’ – climate change; this could impose major changes on our beautiful tree populations. There have calls by some that we should be proactive and start planting more continental species – walnut and perhaps, Downy Oak to ‘bolster’ our two native oaks. Challenging times indeed for our woody neighbours…
