Ash Dieback, also known as Chalara, is a fungal disease affecting ash trees. The scientific name for the fungus that causes the disease is Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Trees are now infected across all of Britain. In North Somerset we must begin to manage the effects of the disease.
Ash Dieback can prove fatal to trees, and it may affect up to 90% of ash trees in Britain. Younger ash trees die very quickly but older trees can survive with the infection for longer.
Trees in woodlands are also affected more than trees in parks due to a high volume of fungal spores from infected leaves. Other environmental conditions can also determine how quickly a tree may decline; the disease can be unpredictable. Unfortunately, there is no way of stopping the disease.
The council manages around 75,000 to 80,000 ash trees.