Trees: Conservation

(asked on 16th January 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what studies his Department is conducting into the prospects for survival of the ash tree.


Answered by
Thérèse Coffey Portrait
Thérèse Coffey
This question was answered on 25th January 2018

Defra’s programme of research on ash dieback has broadly focused on three areas:

  1. Impacts: Research into predicting the economic, social and environmental impacts of ash dieback in woodlands and the wider environment.

  1. Mitigation: We are conducting the world’s largest screening trials to identify disease tolerant trees, which raises the possibility of using selective breeding to develop strains of tolerant trees. We have also commissioned research to develop guidance for local authorities and landowners to mitigate the impacts of the disease

  2. Better understanding of the disease: We have commissioned research to enhance our understanding of the disease including work on spread and disease progression.
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