A view of Ashwellthorpe wood in mid-May picture shows a clear ride (to right) at the edge of an area of coppice woodland. The understorey is

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A view of Ashwellthorpe wood in mid-May picture shows a clear ride (to right) at the edge of an area of coppice woodland. The understorey is principally comprised of hazel, Corylus avellana. The standard trees are mostly Ash, Fraxinus excelsior, with occasional oak, Quercus robur. In this picture, most of the ash trees are dying due to Ash Dieback Disease. This is shown by the lack of any foliage on the majority of the trees above the understorey line. The tree with foliage towards the right side of the picture is an oak, unaffected. Ash die-back disease was first confirmed in the UK natural environment in 2012 at this site in the East of England. It results from fungal infection by Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus ( also known as Chalara fraxinea ), an organism that is thought to have arrived in the UK on imported seedling trees.

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Size: 5212px × 3468px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ash, ashwellthorpe, avellana, chalara, coppice, corylus, dieback, excelsior, fraxinea, fraxinus, hazel, hymenoscyphus, oak, pseudoalbidus, wood, woodland