Ash in the Wight Landscape

The ash tree is an important element of the landscape of the Isle of Wight. Ash is currently a commonly seen tree, widespread in woods and along roadside verges. It is perhaps more noticeable in the landscape as a single hedgerow or field tree. Nationally, Ash is an important timber tree with its hard wearing wood being used in furniture making, house interiors and wooden implements. Ash dieback is a highly destructive disease that has spread across Europe and which is now present in the UK. It is a disease that is sadly going to kill many of our trees and in turn this will have a significant impact on our Island landscape. My project here is to monitor a number of ash trees in the West Wight landscape, both as a record and also to see how they progress against the disease. The project is informal and non scientific.

A prominent ash tree adjacent on Tennyson Down alongside FP46. isle of Wight AONB. Photographed in 2016. The aim is to photograph this tree every year to see how it is affected by ash die back disease.

Same Tree photographed in 2021 alongside FP46 and again with no evidence of Ash die back.

The prominent hedgerow ash tree photographed in July 2023.

Here is the Ash tree eight years on from the 2016 photo and still looking good.

(Photo: 2024)

An example of ash dieback also known as Chalara dieback in a young ash tree, photographed in 2018. Central Wight, AONB.

Ash among the gravestones, Ryde Cemetery, (2016). I will be going back in the summer of 2022 to retake the photo to how the tree has faired.

Same Ash tree in 2022. There are no obvious signs of ash dieback on this tree, but very obvious signs of the disease on other trees in the cemetery.

Prominent ash tree along woodland boundary and public footpath. Thorley Copse, Yarmouth (2017). The woodland is an SSSI and is within the Wight AONB. This part of the wood has sincebeen felled due ash dieback.

An unusual shaped ash tree in a copse on High Down. High Down is part of the Wight AONB. (2021).

A prominent hedgerow ash tree, Freshwater Way. (2021). This hedgerow only has one or two in it so any tree loss would impact on the landscape value.

Copse of ash, with the trees facing east, showing signs of ash dieback. The whole copse is dominated by ash with some oak further back in the woodland (2021). An example of where there has been no active management by the landowner to clear the infected ash trees.

Photographs of before (February 2022) and after clearance of ash along Footpath 24, Tennyson Down, Totland (March 2022). Due to ash dieback, the National Trust have felled a 35 metre strip and intend to revert the land back to chalk grassland. The re establishment of chalk grassland in this area could perhaps, if it works, be one of the upsides of this disease.

Tennyson Down is part of the wider Headon Warren and West High Down Site of Special Interest complex and is notified for chalk grassland habitat. The area is within Wight AONB. This is an example of where the landowner has taken an active approach to managing the the trees, once infected by ash die back disease. The before and after photo locations are approximate but all show the dramatic change to the landscape that management can have. If chalk grassland is to return here, then it is likely that stock grazing will be required along with the necessary fencing to control to the stock,

Picture of sign on site explaining the reason for the felling of the ash on Tennyson Down..

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