Press Release
Embargoed until 2nd September 2004
Starts

Thousands of Manchester trees dying to fatal ‘scab disease’

A disease, which was once thought to be almost non existent in Britain, is killing thousands of Poplar trees across Greater Manchester, devastating tree stocks and threatening the Manchester Poplar with extinction, announced Red Rose Forest, Greater Manchester’s Community Forest today.

The trees affected are the commonly known ‘Manchester Poplar’ – one of Britain’s rarest native trees and Greater Manchester’s own species. It is estimated that more than four thousand trees have already been attacked by the ‘Poplar Scab’ (as it is currently known), but exact figures are impossibly to quantify as the tree is very common within this part of the country. The effect of this scab is also extremely dramatic, as the vast majority of Manchester Poplars are now mature trees towering at around 75 – 100 feet high.

Experts fear that if this disease is left unchecked, it could spell the extinction of the Manchester Poplar.

Poplar Scab was a previously rare disease, which causes the tragic defoliation of trees in the middle of summer, meaning the tree weakens over a period of two or three years, eventually resulting in its death. Other symptoms include the appearance of unsightly black lesions on the leaves, and the overall ‘shriveling’ of the tree, which is noticable to even casual observers.

Said Dr Rose, from Forest Research and an expert in Poplar Scab:

“The problem of Poplar Scab is certainly a major one in the Red Rose Forest area but has not been found further south (no cases south of Cheshire, Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire). Scab is regarded as a rare disease in the UK, so I am anxious to determine whether it is the sole problem affecting these trees or whether any other fungi are involved. However, there have been a number of other cases involving previously rare pathogenic fungi becoming more widespread, or weakly pathogenic fungi becoming more aggressive, in recent years. We need to examine all these cases carefully to see if there might be a connection with changing climatic conditions.”

There is no known cure for Poplar Scab, therefore the only measure available to Local Authorities in an attempt to curb the disease is the felling of diseased trees as soon as symptoms show. This action will also mean that dead and rotting trees are removed before there is any chance of them becoming hazardous to the general public, as roots and limbs weaken.

Felling works have already begun across Greater Manchester, but the aproximate cost to some Local Authorities reaches into the millions of pounds (Manchester City Council estimates that to removed the 3,000 trees which they believe are already infected will cost the Council around £1,500,000)

Said (Executive member name and title) for Manchester City Council council:

“QUOTE”

Red Rose Forest is working closely with all the Local Authorities in Greater Manchester to propose a programme of replanting schemes, which will help to rectify the environmental damage that Poplar Scab will cause.

Said Nigel Blandford, Operations Manager for Red Rose Forest:

“Poplar Scab has the potential to destroy huge numbers of Poplar trees across the Greater Manchester area, and whilst the cause is yet unknown, climate change could be an infuencing factor. However both Red Rose Forest and local councils are committed to rectifying this damage by planting new trees, with the help of local communities, so that the effect on the region’s environment is not irreparable. We fully support the work of the Council to combat the spread of Poplar Scab and hope that the hundreds of trees that we and our partners plant each year will grow to replace these sadly missed Manchester Poplars.”

Any one who is concerned about Poplar Scab, or has any inquiries should contact Nigel Blandford, Operations Manager for Red Rose Forest on 0161 872 1660 / nigel@redroseforest.co.uk

Ends

For all media enquiries, please contact Faith Ashworth at Red Rose Forest on:
t. 0161 872 1660
m. 077 66 747 187
e. faith@redroseforest.co.uk

Notes to the Editor

Red Rose Forest is an environmental regeneration initiative in Greater Manchester and is one of 12 Community Forests being developed in England. We are a partnership of The Countryside Agency, the Forestry Commission and six Greater Manchester local authorities. The Red Rose Forest partnership is planting over 25 million trees across 292 square miles of the area, as part of a 40-year programme that will make Greater Manchester a greener and more satisfying place to live and work. At the heart of our strategy is the involvement of local communities in the environmental, social and economic regeneration of the area.

ENCL. – The Manchester Poplar Information Sheet

The Manchester Poplar – Facts

• The Manchester Poplar (Populus nigra betulifolia) is one of our rarest native trees. As a wild tree it can grow to 125 feet height, although in Manchester the tree rarely reaches above 75 feet

• The largest measured Manchester Popular is a tree in an old church cemetery in Gorton, with a truck that measures 112cm diameter

• Any tree with a trunk diameter over 1 metre must be over 100 years old

• Manchester took this type of Poplar to its heart in the middle of the Industrial revolution, when it was found to be one of the one trees that could survive the high levels of air pollution

• It is sugested that the Manchester Poplar originated from cuttings taken from Blackley Wood, North Manchester (the Poplar was first logged as the Blackley Poplar, only changing to Manchester after 20 years). These cuttings were used to grow thousands of Poplars to be planted across Greater Manchester.

• Many of the large Manchester Poplars in and around Manchester were planted as part of an early ‘Job Creation’ scheme in the 1920s and 1930s

• All the Manchester Poplars in Greater Manchester are actually male – the females shed white ‘fluff seeds’ that are not welcomed by local residents!

• Although popular, a prospensity to shed large limbs and generally weak wood means that planting levels of Poplar trees have dropped considerably in the past 40 years – in favour of other species