Fifty forestry contractors who work in south Wales’s woodlands attended a workshop today (Monday 16 August) to learn how they can help the fight against the tree disease caused by Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum).
Representatives from a range of businesses including tree harvesting companies, fencing contractors, civil engineers and mountain bike trail maintenance firms came along to the workshop which was organised by Forestry Commission Wales at their office in Resolven.
P. ramorum was first discovered affecting larch trees in Wales in June. The spores that cause the infection can be spread by the movement of contaminated soil and needles stuck to footwear, clothing, timber, vehicles and equipment.
Attendees at the workshop learnt about the simple precautions they should take when working at a P. ramorum control site, where the infection has either been confirmed or is suspected, to reduce the risk of carrying the spores around with them within and between woodlands.
They were told that the main precaution is to ensure footwear is cleaned of all soil, needles and plant debris and then disinfected before entering or leaving a control site. Needles and debris on clothing must also be shaken out or brushed off before leaving the site or getting into a vehicle.
Hand tools and motorised tools used on infected sites for cutting and digging may become contaminated and attendees were given practical demonstrations of how to disinfect their equipment. They were also asked to check that vehicle tyres and lorry beds are free of loose soil and debris before leaving a control site.
Peter Cloke, Forestry Commission Wales’s Deputy Forest District Manager, said, “Phytophthora ramorum has infected a significant number of larch trees in the woodlands in south Wales that we manage behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.
“The contractors who work in the public forests have a vital role to play in helping us to prevent the spread of this fatal tree disease.
“I am delighted that so many of them came along today to learn that, by taking some simple precautions, they can reduce the risk of giving the disease a lift to another site.”
P. ramorum is a fungus-like pathogen that kills many of the trees that it infects. It was found on Japanese larch trees in south west England last year, and in woodland managed by Forestry Commission Wales in the Afan Valley, near Port Talbot, Dulais Valley, near Crynant and Garw Valley, near Bridgend in June.
The outbreak in south Wales is the first time P. ramorum has been found on Japanese larch trees outside of south west England.
P. ramorum is not harmful to humans or animals and the public woodlands remain open with signs at forest entrances asking that visitors observe simple biosecurity precautions to minimise the spread of infection.
Woodland owners or managers who suspect infection in their trees should report it to Forestry Commission Wales’s Grants & Regulations office at Clawdd Newydd, Ruthin, Denbighshire, LL15 2NL Tel: 0300 068 0300, e-mail: [email protected]
