Ash tree set for extinction in Europe

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35876621

Ash tree set for extinction in Europe

By Claire Marshall
BBC Environment Correspondent

7 hours ago


The ash tree is likely to be wiped out in Europe, according to the largest-ever survey of the species. The trees are being killed off by the fungal disease ash-dieback along with an invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer.

According to the research, published in the Journal of Ecology, the British countryside will never look the same again. The paper says that the ash will most likely be "eliminated" in Europe. This could mirror the way Dutch elm disease largely wiped out the elm in the 1980s.
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Ash dieback, also known as Chalara, is a disease that was first seen in Eastern Europe in 1992. It now affects more than 2 million sq km, from Scandinavia to Italy.
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The emerald ash borer is a bright green beetle that, like ash dieback, is native to Asia. It's not yet in the UK but is spreading west from Moscow at a rate of 25 miles (41 km) a year and is thought to have reached Sweden. The adult beetles feed on ash trees and cause little damage. However the larvae bore under the bark and in to the wood, killing the tree.

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This won't just change our landscape - it will have a severe impact on biodiversity. 1,000 species are associated with ash or ash woodland, including 12 types of bird, 55 mammals and 239 invertebrates.

Mr Thomas said, "Of these, over 100 species of lichens, fungi and insects are dependent upon the ash tree and are likely to decline or become extinct if the ash was gone. Some other trees such as alder, small-leaved lime and rowan can provide homes for some of these species... but if the ash went, the British countryside would never look the same again."
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