Work is underway to fell trees infected by Phythophora ramorum (P. ramorum) in two woodlands near Neath.
Penhydd Forest, within Afan Forest Park, and Crynant Forest are two of the sites in South Wales where P. ramorum was found in Japanese larch trees earlier this year.
Access to sections of both forests will be restricted to the public until March 2011 while the felling operations are carried out.
P. ramorum is a fungus-like pathogen that kills many of the trees that it infects. Infected Japanese larch trees produce high numbers of the spores that spread the disease, with the result that a lot of these trees can become infected very quickly.
P. ramorum is not harmful to humans or animals and, to avoid inadvertently spreading the pathogen, visitors to infected woodlands such as Penhydd and Crynant are asked to observe some simple biosecurity precautions. These are explained on signs onsite and include keeping to paths, keeping dogs on leads, cleaning footwear and not taking any plant material away.
Jonathan Price from Forestry Commission Wales, which manages Afan and Crynant forests on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government, said, “Phytophthora ramorum is a serious tree disease and, by felling infected trees in these two woodlands, we hope to limit the production of the spores that spread the infection and therefore minimise the impact of the outbreak.”
The contractors harvesting the trees will follow biosecurity precautions when handling the logs and transporting them to saw mills that have been licensed to receive logs from infected forests.
There is no evidence to suggest that P. ramorum’s presence in a tree makes its timber unusable and there is no risk of further spread from wood that has been processed.
All timber from the trees harvested at Afan and Penhydd forests will be sold to local timber merchants and used for various wood products such as logs, chipboard and biofuel.
P. ramorum was first discovered on Japanese larch trees in Great Britain in 2009 in South West England. It was then found on larch in public woodlands in South Wales in June 2010.
Forestry Commission Wales staff will continue to monitor trees for signs of infection but symptoms may not become evident until next spring when larch trees – which are deciduous conifers – renew their needles.
Further information about P. ramorum can be found on the Forestry Commission’s website at www.forestry.gov.uk/pramorum.
