Thousands of trees felled to stop Sudden Oak Death

[dangerous brian]

it,s not just restricted to larch,we recently took down an infected beech .

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

They've been warning us about this for months now. I'm very worried as I have about 90+ acres of trees growing -- though, thankfully, no larch.

 

The thing that's most worrying is that the disease seems to be evolving to affect different trees. It started out infecting rhododendron in the South West of the UK and then spread to larch. It's spread by the wind and larch produces a lot of spores in spring and summer which can carry the disease a long distance when the air is moist. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that the prevailing wind is from the SW so it's very likely to spread up-country. It seems to have got as far as Somerset, Wiltshire at the moment.

 

I suggest familiarising yourself with the symptoms as many of you could be the first to see them. All you need to know is here...

 

Forestry Commission - plant health - P. ramorum in England

 

I suppose it's an ill wind that blows no one any good, so some of you might be in for a bonanza time.

 

Best wishes,

 

John Russell

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/18167-p-ramorum-marches-north.html

[mendiplogs]

HI T.C.D ref chipper mate is that 936 fendt mate thats 360hp :thumbup1:all the best jon

[John Russell]

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/18167-p-ramorum-marches-north.html

 

Have you come across many trees with it yet, John?

 

Right next to where we are (15 miles north of Dartmoor) there was an old Victorian stately home -- now gone -- and as a result the woods around us are full of rhododendron.

 

Best wishes,

 

John Russell

[Matthew Arnold]

One of the big local estates i go beatin on just had upwards of 300 acres of Larch and fir plantations felled because the majority of the plantations had phtyo. Such a shame they had to fell and have the lot chipped on site. It all went for biomass even the branches. There is one pocket of firs left and they will only be felled if they absolute have to. Not going to hit anything other than more trees. And they are estimated to be 200 years old. Not sure what species they are but there is definately a massive Western Red Cedar in there.

[Paul honeybun]

Nope, i think hes Dorset based? Im closer to the Devon border.

 

Does he still have his big chipper and massive claas xerion to power it?

 

Dan is based just outside of Ringwood havent seen him for a few years. The last time i saw him he was taking part in an event they were filming for "Scrapheap Challenge" on the Bealieu estate which i was helping to organise the recovery on the off road course.

[APC]

I've got a horse chestnut that I suspect of having it. We have tonnes of rhodie immediate parkland around it.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Have you come across many trees with it yet, John?

 

Right next to where we are (15 miles north of Dartmoor) there was an old Victorian stately home -- now gone -- and as a result the woods around us are full of rhododendron.

 

Best wishes,

 

John Russell

 

I live on the edge of Cann Wood in the Plym valley where it all started! Sweet Chestnut and Jap Larch have been demolished by harvester, hand and mulcher. Correct disposal is supposed to be high temp incineration or deep burial - I have been sending my dodgy stuff for incineration which aint cheap but unlike UPM Tilhill who were contracted to slash a load of rhoddy and then chipped it all I can't be held respnsible for spraying spores everywhere!

 

SW prevailing wind was obviously going to get it to Wales. Have just returned from Scotland - no sign of it there...

 

Interestingly the larch around the car parks in cann wood has been doing this bizzarre on and off thing - defoliating one month and trying again the next ???

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Some info...

PR11.pdf

[tommer9]

Try living here- scorrier woods was the first hotspot.

There is aklot of misinformation being spread about this pathogen- as much because those that are investigating it are in the dark themselves as the fact that like every disease of this virulence- be it ramorum or foot and mouth or BSE- there is a huge amount at stake if the true extent gets out into public knowledge. Those investigating it (Ann Payne and her cronies essentially) are themselves on a steep learning curve about his pathogen, which also aids the (unintentional) spread of misinformation. I have seen this on probably 20 different species of tree, in all sorts of locations- including on a southern beech in a large national trust garden. One of the original investigators in this country was round at my place a couple of weeks back (his missus is a customer of my missus') and he was basically saying that nobody really knows anytyhing definitive about ramorum yet. They are still finding new ways for it to spread on an almost daily basis.

This isnt over, and its not helped by people chipping the infected plants, or DEFRA allowing the like of me to receive infected sawlogs under licence, so long as we agree to burn all arisings on site and clean equipment after use.