Bearsted Woodland Trust’s maintenance volunteers are always careful to check for signs of trees in distress at the 28-acre site. If disease is identified, remedial action - such as pollarding in the case of ash trees with ash dieback disease - can sometimes help the tree survive.
But where a tree has died and poses a disease hazard to its woodland neighbours, it means that it has to be felled. This has been the situation recently with a rare case of acute oak decline (AOD).
AOD was first identified in Britain in the 1980s and is mainly confined to the south east, central and eastern areas of England. It is caused by multiple agents but mainly a beetle that burrows through the bark and introduces bacteria.
BWT Management Committee Deputy Chair/Ecology Adrian Bouwens explained: ‘On a walkabout with a BWT member, who also happens to be a tree specialist, we identified that one of the oak trees at the Roundwell entrance had died and that this was probably due to this disease.
‘Following this, we identified two others that were showing symptoms so we sent samples off to the Forestry Commission’s laboratories, which confirmed our fears,’ he said.
‘We were especially concerned for Pauline Moore’s oak, but it appears healthy and is not showing any symptoms, possibly because of its better position on less sandy soil and the nutrients provided by the horses over the years.’
The dead tree has now been felled, with the wood being burnt on site to prevent the disease spreading elsewhere. The two other trees showing symptoms are being monitored closely by maintenance volunteers, with lots of watering and mulching to increase nutrients to the roots.