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Managing Ash Dieback

Ash is a really important tree for lichens, which supports many rare and threatened species. Plantlife’s toolkits offer advice to help protect these trees from the impacts of ash dieback.

Woodland area with green trees and lichen covered wood
The tree lungwort Lobaria pulmonaria growing on an ash tree in north Wales

What can you do?

Take a look at our guide for advice on how to mitigate for ash dieback.

Download here

Why we need to manage this?

More than a quarter of the UK’s lichen species can be found on ash trees, but ash dieback is now widespread across much of the UK.

  • Some 536 different species of lichens grow on ash trees in the UK alone
  • Of these, 78 species are endangered or threatened

There is lots of advice available on managing ash dieback in general terms, but there is a lack of advice on what can be done to mitigate the impact of the disease on these rich and important lichen populations.

Ash at Horner Combe, Somerset, with varying stages of ash dieback, including a dead tree to the right

Horner Wood, Exmoor

Plantlife’s work at Horner Wood shows the importance of veteran ash trees and what management techniques can be used.

Take a look