Northumberland Wildlife Trust

I would agree with the above, the original damage is most likely caused by something like a bonfire near the base of the tree several years ago! the wounds are healing quite well and over time the tree might recover reasonably well, however the crack low down on the left hand stem is a cause for concern and should be checked more closely! I would replace it with a nice native oak!!

A population of Aspen (Populus tremula) on one of our nature reserves has rapidly succumbed to disease this year and I am struggling to identify the cause. I submitted a report via tree alert earlier in the year, but I didn’t receive a response as I suppose the team are snowed under with reports of ash dieback and other economically important diseases. The Aspen have cankers on the small branches and twigs. Searching through the internet, the closest match I can find for the disease is Black Canker (Ceratocystis fimbriata). However, I cannot find any reports of the disease in the UK and I wonder if anyone could suggest a more likely cause? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!