Walkers and cyclists have been ordered to disinfect their boots and tyres after visiting ancient woodland to prevent the spread of a mysterious new disease that threatens to wipe out Britain's oak trees. Acute Oak Decline (AOD) has already infected thousands of trees across the country. The condition can kill trees in just a few years and experts fear it could alter the British landscape to an even greater extent than Dutch elm disease if it spreads to all of the country's 200 million oaks.
The Forestry Commission, the Government agency in charge of protecting woodland, is so concerned about the situation it has issued an advice leaflet for the public.
The condition is different to sudden oak death, that also kills other species, and bleeding canker that has infected half the country's conker trees.
But scientists remain at a loss as to where the disease came from or how it can be managed. All they know is a certain type of bacteria seems to be involved that could be carried by insects, animals or humans.
Thousands of trees have been identified with the condition in the Midlands and Wales but it is thought to be be much wider spread. The Forestry Commission are asking the public to report trees with bleeding lesions on the bark in order to monitor the scale of the outbreak. Landowners are being asked to put up signs so that the public is aware of infected areas as well as managing the disease where possible by cutting off infected branches or felling oaks.
The public are also being asked to stop the spread of the disease by disinfecting boots or tyres if they think they have been in an area infected with AOD. They have been told not to touch the trees or remove wood from the area.
The biosecurity advice is similar to measures brought in to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease between cattle on different farms.
Roddie Burgess, head of the Forestry Commission's plant health service, said everyone can help to stop the disease taking hold.
"We tend to be cautious about what might be seen as scare-mongering, but the signs here are that we are dealing with something that has the markings that it could become something very serious indeed," he said.
"We've 200 million oaks in the UK, so if this thing did really take off in the same way as Dutch elm disease, the impact on the landscape and biodiversity would be very significant."
Forest Research, the research arm of the Forestry Commission, is continuing to investigate the disease, to get a better understanding of it and how it spreads.
The Royal Forestry Society are calling for £10 million from the Government over the next five years to tackle the problem of new tree diseases.
The Telegraph:20-5-10 Post Title
→Walkers asked to disinfect boots in Oak disease fight.
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