Pragmatic approach to dealing with Ash trees

[Treeation]

47 minutes ago, lux said:

I’ve got 10 acres that is probably 60 to 70 percent ash. Lots of die back.
Leaf litter is a big problem as chalara remains in the petiole and as then will cycle back into the tree. There is no correlation in die back in the crown to any sort of chalara based damage at the roots so you only need to be concerned about falling dead wood etc. If you have a honey fungus present in the location it will attack the trees weekend by chalara so basal inspections are still important.
I have deliberately let some pollarded ash lapse. They were pollarded by the previous owner of the property and I’ve been here nearly 4 years now. The lapsed pollards couldn’t look healthier but the rest of the wood is all suffering. My assumption is it’s linked to the lack of leaf litter due to the pollard.
For me it’s just a case of working on trees near my house which pose risk. As for the woodland part of the garden I let nature take its course and deal with what comes which typically means clearing them after they fall.
I did investigate grants for replanting but you need a minimum of 12 acres to be eligible for the grant.

Sounds sensible

[Woodworks]

 

 

 

2

1 hour ago, lux said:

I
Leaf litter is a big problem as chalara remains in the petiole and as then will cycle back into the tree. There is no correlation in die back in the crown to any sort of chalara based damage at the roots so you only need to be concerned about falling dead wood etc. I

Does this mean if you coppice wood that only shows damage on the outer branches what remains in uninfected for a while? 

[lux]

In theory it will certainly help. My knowledge only comes from investigating what other agencies have done in their research thus far but having gone on the pests and disease walk around at the arb show the information cascaded down from that certainly rings true with the visible representation in my woodland.
If you coppiced the ash and we’re thorough in clearing the area of branch and leaf my money would be that the regrowth on your ash would be healthier. How long that vitality goes on for given The extent of the disease and that spores are airborne in the spread of the disease is anyone’s guess. Coppicing them and giving them a half chance must be better than nothing and possibly. loosing them I’d say.

[AHPP]

Man plans, god laughs.

[Mark J]

Given that ash is ring porous, the dry summer and general lack of rain will have left them struggling.
I travel quite a bit with my current role and nationwide it seems like they're in a canny shoddy state. I agree with you Matt, that many roadside trees have just been left to rot, but this looks different. I never really knew elms in the landscape, but driving around and seeing mature ash (admittedly just late) bare,  makes us think of how it'll look when they're gone.
If I was of the contacting mindset, I'd probably be investing in a decent winch.