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Lichens on a tree infected with ash dieback have been rescued and given a new home in a bid to save them.
The rescue mission, using tried and tested translocation methods, saved 2 rare lichen species in the Lake District. Read on to find out how our experts did it.
We recently discovered 2 rare lichen species at risk in the Lake District’s unique temperate rainforest. They were growing on an infected Ash tree and needed to be moved to ensure they continued to thrive in this habitat.
The tree has been infected with ask dieback meaning it is at a high risk of dying or collapsing in a storm.
Our experts translocated some of the lichen from the infected Ash tree to a nearby Hazel tree in the Lake District, home to some of the UK’s rare temperate rainforests.
The high rainfall, humid temperatures and ancient woodlands provide a perfect climate for rare lichens to survive.
Alongside a beck in the Lake District, our team identified Black-bordered Shingle Lichen and Stinky Sticta on a mature Ash tree.
Stinky Sticta Sticta sylvatica is so called because it smells like rotten fish when wet! It is blackish brown when wet and dark grey-brown when dry. The lichen has rounded lobes that turn down at the edges.
Black-bordered Shingle Lichen Parmeliella thriptophylla looks like a dark stain on the bark of trees. It has a coral-like structure and can normally be found growing on either bark or rock surfaces in damp shaded woodlands. The lichen is blackish when wet and brown or grey-brown when dry.
Both these lichens are rainforest indicators and are members of a group of lichens that we have an international responsibility to protect.
To translocate the lichens, our experts carefully removed small fragments of both lichens and the top surface of the tree bark with a pen knife. Young and healthy-looking parts of the lichen were chosen as they were still growing.
They were then taken to an area of trees about 10m along the beck, chosen because of their similar conditions, to give the lichens the best chance of survival. In this case, a Hazel tree with similar high bark pH was chosen.
The lichens were attached to the tree using plastic mesh netting and stapled in place.
Both Black-bordered Shingle Lichen and Stinky Sticta need air flow, light and access to water – which the mesh can allow. The lichens were translocated onto a horizontal branch, with similar conditions to their original location, allowing the lichens to be easily wetted by rainfall.
Many lichen species rely on Ash trees for survival .Ash Fraxinus excelsior is especially important for a community of lichens which grow on more alkaline or ‘basic’ tree bark. The survival threat facing Ash trees, caused by ash dieback, means these important habitats are gradually disappearing.
Ash dieback is a fatal fungal disease caused by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. 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.
Both lichens in this rescue mission needed to be saved from the infected Ash tree because we did not know how long it would remain a viable host tree. As Ash trees die off, the bark dies and falls from the tree, taking any lichens on the bark with it.
Translocation is never a first option for lichen conservation work, but to ensure the survival of some species, it is necessary.
Careful consideration is given to the species of lichen and the recipient tree in all cases.
This is a long-term project and we won’t know how successful the translocation has been for some time. The Stinky Sticta should show signs of taking to its new tree earlier than Black-bordered Shingle Lichen.
The site will be monitored regularly, but signs of complete success could take up to 10 years to show.
Britain is home to one of the rarest habitats in the world – the temperate rainforest. But how would you know if you were walking in one?
Dave Lamacraft, Plantlife’s Lichen and Bryophyte Specialist, heads out to discover a wealth of extraordinary lichens which call Wales’ rainforests home.
Air pollution often poses the biggest danger to internationally rare habitats and nitrogen gases have the potential to destroy our temperate rainforests.
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