Aggressive tree disease Phytophthora ramorum, which is killing large numbers of Japanese larch in the UK, has been found in Derbyshire’s Peak District.
The Forestry Commission has confirmed the disease in Japanese larch trees in a small woodland between Bakewell and Matlock, 80 miles from the nearest previously known outbreak in Japanese larch, a commercial timber species.
The disease has until now been confined to south Wales and south-west England, with single isolated sites in central and northern Wales and western Scotland, and a small number in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The Peak District outbreak on larch was first noticed during extensive aerial surveys of southern and western Britain and central England to spot possible signs of the disease.
“It’s too early to predict the full implications of this find so far from any other known infected larch woodland,” said Ben Jones, the Forestry Commission’s phytophthora programme manager.
Meanwhile, Dr John Morgan, head of the Forestry Commission’s plant health service, has paid tribute to woodland owners who have co-operated with the ramorum disease management programme.
“The past two years have been a difficult time for the forestry community, especially those woodland owners who have suffered heart-breaking losses of valuable trees. Without their prompt co-operation, we would almost certainly be in a much worse situation, with more infected woodland.
“I would therefore like to thank them, and everyone else who has responded so well to this challenge, from the contractors, hauliers and processing companies to the scientists who have worked tirelessly to give us answers, and the Cambridge University modellers who have produced the risk models that guide our management and surveillance strategies.”
