‘Dusk I – Ash Dieback’, monoprint sketch, 22x30cm

After a period of thinking some of the Ash Trees @wildingweekehill were avoiding the spread of Ash Dieback (or indeed showing signs of resistance), it now appears that all of them are now affected in some way and will not survive beyond the next few years. It’s now a question of appropriate management & observation.

I’ve done some monoprint sketches of the affected trees on the wilding plot. As you can see here, the crowns are invariably affected first, from where it spreads inwards and downwards through the vascular system, with younger trees particularly vulnerable.

The true ‘cost’ of Ash dieback disease in the UK is ultimately going to cost the UK in the region of £15 billion. This figure takes into account the costs of clearing millions of dead and dying trees from roads and urban areas, as well as functions carried out by trees such as water and air purification, as well as carbon sequestration. However, it is the loss of these ecological services that will be the biggest cost to society and lays bare the perils of a lax approach to biosecurity when it comes to plants.

With resistance only being shown in the Asian variants of the species (as they have evolved alongside the pathogen) estimates suggest that nearly 99% of native specimens in the UK will be lost in the long-term.

‘Dusk I – Ash Dieback’ recently appeared in the Florence Contemporary Gallery exhibition ‘Unbounded’.