Experts say effects of ash dieback could be catastrophic

The fungus has already caused widespread damage to ash tree populations in continental Europe since it was first reported as an unknown new disease in Poland in 1992.

Chalara dieback fungus is particularly destructive of young ash plants, killing them within one growing season of symptoms becoming visible. Older trees can survive initial attacks, but tend to succumb eventually after several seasons of infection.

It was unknown in Great Britain until the first case was confirmed in ash plants in a nursery in Buckinghamshire early in 2012, in a consignment which had been imported from Holland.  There are an estimated 80 million ash trees in the UK - accounting for around five per cent of our treescape. The majority of these trees could be lost if the fungus tightens its grip.

Botanist Phil Gates, from Durham University, said it was unclear whether some trees would be resistant to the disease, although that was likely as the species was genetically diverse.

Dr Gates said there was currently a debate raging about whether to fell infected trees or let the disease run its course.

“They don't support the same amount of wildlife as oaks do for example but they are still an important landscape tree,” he said.

Fast-growing ash helped heal the scars of Dutch elm disease and filled in the gaping holes left in our woods following the great storm of 1987.

It is claimed a dramatic loss of ash would change the shape and content of our farmland, hedgerows, urban spaces, ancient woodlands, veteran ash pollards and the special place of ash in historic landscapes.

This is bad enough but wildlife does not live in isolation. If ash disappears, so do the habitats, homes, shelter and food sources that the tree provides to hundreds of species. Ash dieback not only affects ash trees but also the birds, mammals, insects and plants whose lives are inextricably linked to the tree.

Some of our most beautiful finches could struggle if ash is decimated.

The RSPB is particularly concerned about the hawfinch and the bullfinch. Both birds possess huge bills which are capable of crunching their way into the hard seeds of ash keys. The hawfinch has experienced a major decline in recent years, so ash dieback represents a worrying additional pressure.

But it is not just specialists that will be affected. Ash is a wildlife all-rounder; it is an important habitat and food source for many species, particularly roosting birds and bats as well as hole-nesting birds. Great spotted woodpeckers happily plunder ash keys and use the trees as a sap run.

But it is our bugs and insects that will bear the brunt of any ash tree fallout. Wildlife charity Buglife has warned that many insect species are directly dependent on ash. Butterfly Conservation revealed more than 16 species of moth, ranging from the dramatic privet hawkmoth to the protected barred tooth-striped, use the tree.

But the loss of ash will be reflected on a deeper cultural level. This is a tree that for hundreds of years was believed to hold magical healing powers - in one ritual children were passed through young, split ash trees as a way of treating ailments.

Economically important for coppice, ash has been relied upon for a myriad of other uses - from walking sticks, lobster pots and snooker cues to hockey sticks and coffins.

The ash is unobtrusive and discreet, an ever-present in our landscape - always there but generally unnoticed.

We are in danger of only recognising the tree’s vital importance to our landscape, culture and ecology when it is gone.