4th December 2011
CONSERVATIONISTS AND THE SYCAMORE - MAPLE TREES
This tree, as much as any other, has been a big source of debate which has tended to split the opinion of conservationists. Some hate it and others defend it with great vigour. I count myself amongst the latter The trees are found widely in Europe and Asia and in our case migrated from Europe to Britain at the end of the Middle Ages. They can grow widely in most parts of the UK but they really came into their own when Dutch Elm Disease spread by the bark beetle destriyed virtually all our Native Elms.
Many individual and neighborhood planting schemes were undertaken, especially during the "Plant a Tree in 73" and "Plant some more in 74 " national campaigns and proved very successful at filling in the voids left by the millions of lost Elms. Our own particular trees are a part of this campaign promoted by Pendle Council. It is a fact that the dense crown can slow or even stop ground flora from thriving and the soil under the canopy tends to be dry and bare but in the case of the Trees in Duke Street, the ground is often water logged during wet weather therefore its drying properties are fairly beneficial rather than troublesome. A sixty food specimen is a very efficient pump and can lift a hundred gallons or more of water per hour from roots to crown. Without the Duke Street trees the green strip could quickly become a quagmire due to lack of proper drainage. Some conservationsts point out that sycamore can alter the structure and thus the eco-system, particularly of birch and alder woods, should it invade such woodland. They insist that the sycamore should be eradicated from semi-natural woodland.
On the plus side the flowers are an important source of nectar for bees and other insects. Aphids are also numerous on the foliage of sycamore thus providing an important food source for birds, particularly when they have chicks to feed. I have also observed long trails of ants which capture the aphids and keep them as a source of food. The seeds are eaten by woodmice especially when other sources of food are in short supply. Many assert that the Sycamore is just a Weed but this is far from the case. Its true that it does seed and spread readily in the right conditions and grows quickly from a sapling. It has been realised that 150 creatures are associated with the tree either for food or in some other connection. Sycamores are robust and can tolerate environments which soon polish off less adaptable species. Consequently they are used extensively as park land and town trees,.
LOCAL HISTORY OF THIS LAND
I moved here in 1980 and observed that the land occupied by the sycamores was little more than wasteland. There was a thick cover of dead brambles and weeds, so thick that grass and plants were not able to penetrate it and grow. Helped by some neighbours we cleared and burned the dead cover. This revealed the ground beneth to be in a very poor state, dozens of bags of dumped waste was collected and removed but this also reveal dumped paint, broken glass, oil, scrap metal, asbestos and old plastic sheeting. This covering was so thick that it was impossible to dig without mechanical help. One of the older residents said that some soil had been brought from the old Tannery site at Ball Grove.We removed some of the more serioius contamination and covered the rest witl whatever soil and turf we could find from the allotments and gardens. We had hoped that the site could be used for growing fruit and veg but in view of the obvious and less obvious contamination, this plan was abandoned and it was decided to simply encourage more grass and turf with wild flowers which would serve as an amenity for the houses on Duke Street.
REMEDIAL ACTION FOR TREES
Of the six sycamores which had been planted, one had already died and another one was clearly destined for the same fate. we pruned and shaped the remaining trees with some degree of success as the trees grew more foliage. Since then they have been pruned twice more and together with other neighbours a hedgerow of thorns and silver birch and beech has been planted. The sycamores have not grown to any great height but are much bushier with the exception of the sycamore at the field end which appears diseased although further pruning may help restore it to some semblence of health. Of the two other sycamores height could be reduced by lowering the crown and further pruning which would allow more light for ground planting. and infil. Having made it this far it would seem unnecessary to cut down or dig up the remaining trees, pollarding is not recommended as this is a cruel and ugly fate for any tree. Even if they are left alone completely, they are unlikely to grow to any great height due to the thin soil cover and previous pruning.
When we arrived in this village most of the gardens had been abandoned due to the uncertain fate of the M65 Motorway but as we have planted and cultivated we have noted a dramatic increase in numbers and diversity of wild birds including song birds and sparrows which have been placed on the RSPB Red List due to rapid decline of numbers. By providing tree and shrub habitat we are continuing this process. We now have regular visitors and residents of specis such as Jays, Wood Pidgeon, Redpoll, Nuthatch, Tree Creeper, flocks of Long Tail Tits, and even Greater Spotted Woodpecker and bats . In terms of habitat and biodiversity, this can only be described as a success and one which we hope to continue to develope. In terms that council officers might understand it is my recommendation that we " Do Minimum," ie, lowering of crown height, prune straggly and diseased branches, and infill with other shrubs and ground cover. I personally applied for Conservation status for this area and all that i am suggessting is that we continue with this process.
The Japanes Maple is now suffering a spreading disease in the UK due to Climate Changebut this is just the tip of the iceberg. Imported plants have brought diseases that threaten to kill millions of British trees Our obsession with gardening has opened the door to exotic species that bring deadly pathogens and pests. A bacterial infection called acute oak decline threatens mature oaks in Britain.
In the south of england Horse chestnuts were being attacked by a bleeding a rust-coloured liquid down its bark last week. As it dried, it left a black, tar-like stain several feet long. Two streets away, another horse chestnut had prematurely shed its leaves in July. A fungal pathogen known as bleeding canker was killing the first tree from the inside, while the horse chestnut leaf miner moth was destroying the second. Neither tree will survive the winter. Plant pathogens are on the rise globally and Britain is susceptible because of our increasingly warm, wet winters and the globalisation of trade, which has enabled us to fuel our love of gardens by importing millions of exotic plants, many of which can arrive diseased
Plant pathogens are on the rise globally and Britain is susceptible because of our increasingly warm, wet winters and the globalisation of trade, which has enabled us to fuel our love of gardens by importing millions of exotic plants, many of which can arrive diseased.
"We now have six to eight organisms in the British Isles that are a real concern. In the 1960s and 70s it was Dutch elm disease, which killed 30m trees; in the 1990s it was a new Phytophthora which devastated alders along river banks. But in the last 10 years we have had as many new diseases as we had in the previous 40 or 50 years," said Joan Webber, principal pathologist at Forest Research, the Forestry Commission's research arm.
More than 3m larches have had to be felled in the last three years to try to stop the spread of an airborne disease called Phytophthora ramorum. Meanwhile, hundreds of cases of a bacterial infection, acute oak decline, have been recorded in mature oaks; a disease called red band needle blight is affecting many conifers; and beeches and ash trees have all come under sustained attack by exotic pests, fungi and diseases. Most are confined to one species of tree, but they can potentially jump species into others.
Tony Kirkham, head of the arboretum at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which has 14,000 trees and has seen many attacked in the last few years, said some of the most serious threats came from the oak processionary moth. These have been seen in Britain before but were first found breeding in 2005 along a stretch of the A40 and in Kew and East Sheen, west London. The caterpillars can cause serious defoliation of oak trees, and weaken the trees to the point that they are prone to other diseases. "This is serious stuff. It will change the landscape of the British Isles if it is not checked.
"It's a very challenging time for anyone who manages trees. Bleeding canker is spreading right across southern England, and is now moving north quickly, as far as Wales and York. Wherever you go in southern England, horse chestnuts are struggling," Even tens of thousands of beautiful Larches are now being felled to try to stem a disease which in only a year has spread from the South West of England, through Wales, and reached Lancashire only last month. All this will have a devastating on the appearance and the ecology of the UK. We must not 0take great care with all the trees we cherish, even the most humble.
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH in PENDLE
