Rangers at Ickworth Estate, near Bury St Edmunds, plant 1,300 trees to combat ash dieback killing its landscape
Managers at a National Trust estate have planted 1,300 trees to combat a disease which is killing the land’s foliage.
Around a third of the 1,800 acre Ickworth Estate is covered in woodland, but in recent years the landscape has been devastated by ash dieback.
This winter, to fight back against the fungal disease which has hit an area the size of 68 football pitches, rangers have planted the trees to restore this woodland area and support the growth of the next generation of ancient and veteran trees.
Ash dieback weakens the branches and trunks of the trees, making them unsafe, and so in many areas of the estate the trees have had to be removed.
Dee Gathorne-Hardy, lead ranger at Ickworth Estate, said: “Around 20 per cent of the woodland at Ickworth is made up of ash trees and we’ve already lost a large proportion of these trees to ash dieback. Only a small number of the ash trees are showing resilience at present, so it’s been devastating for the woodland here, as it has across the country.
“While it is very sad to lose so many trees, we’re taking the opportunity to replant the woodland with a variety of different species which will improve the diversity and health of the habitat long-term.”
This winter, rangers replanted just under four acres worth of woodland in an area known as Horsepool Wood, on the west side of the estate. This area had previously been felled due to the ash dieback.
The dead trees have been replaced with a selection of native broadleaf species to enhance the health and diversity of the habitat.
Dee said diversity is imperative in a woodland, which is why the rangers chose the range of species to replace the ash. This included oak, hornbeam, hazel, wild cherry and field maple. It is hoped this will boost biodiversity and make the woodland more resistant to future impacts of climate change.
Ash dieback is caused by a fungus called hymenoscyphus fraxineus. This originated in Asia and spread to Europe through the global plant trade. With its windborne spores, the fungus spreads quickly, causing the crown of the tree to die back, often causing the death of the tree.
The team at Ickworth has also installed a deer-proof fence and tree guards to protect the saplings from wildlife. On this latest project, rangers used their learnings from a trial in another area of the estate called Sheepwash Field, which is between the Albana Woodland and River Linnet.
Dee said: “Grazing had been reduced in this area, and we noticed some new saplings growing, so we set aside a number of test areas to trial natural regeneration.
“We created large enclosures to mimic what natural regeneration would look like in a woodland setting, undisturbed by deer and other wildlife. This has helped us to identify which saplings would grow naturally and survive the dry springs we’ve been experiencing.
“Some areas were more successful than others. Natural regeneration takes a long time and what we have found is that a combination of new planting, alongside natural regrowth is the best combination, but it also needs protection from deer.”
Ickworth has a large deer population which is notorious for nibbling on new foliage, which made it even more important for the rangers to protect the trees.
Alongside the 1,200 trees at Horsepool Wood, another 100 trees were planted across the landscape as part of succession planning for the many ancient and veteran trees on the estate.
Ickworth is home to around 1,500 of these – some as old as 700 years – which are vital for the National Trust site. They provide habitats for a wealth of insects, invertebrates, bats and other wildlife.
As the trees come to the end of their lives – and while rangers make sure they live as long as possible – it is pertinent to plant new trees to replace them.
In the future, Dee and the rangers hope to plant more trees on a larger scale across the estate to help develop their management plans and secure a diverse and resilient landscape for years to come.
