Second Ash Archive Established in Scotland to Combat Ash Dieback and Preserve Species

As part of the Living Ash Project, managed by the Future Trees Trust, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has established an ash archive in Perth & Kinross. This is only the second such archive in the UK, funded by £700,000 from Defra. The 1.5ha archive aims to grow trees resistant to ash dieback, a serious fungal disease that causes leaf loss and crown dieback, often fatal in younger trees. 

Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, has praised the pivotal role of Forestry Land Scotland and Future Trees Trust in a significant cross-border ash tree initiative.

Mairi Gougeon stated, “The ongoing impact of ash dieback, which was first identified in the UK back in 2012, has been a major blow for Ash in the landscape. Thousands of affected trees were destroyed, which also had a devastating impact on the interconnected network of almost 1000 other species – birds, mammals, insects, lichens and others – that are linked to or entirely depended on this species of tree. The risk from that disease is still present and deterioration is ongoing. That is why it is absolutely vital that Forestry and Land Scotland step up to manage and maintain this second archive and grow disease resistant trees drawn from surviving ash from around the UK. I wish the project every success in restoring this highly functional and very beautiful species to its rightful place in the landscape.” 

The first archive was established in Hampshire in 2019. The new Scottish archive, managed by FLS, provides a geographically distinct facility to mitigate the risk of disease. The Perth and Kinross trees are grafts from the strongest trees in Hampshire and newer selections exposed to the disease longer. This genetic reservoir aids scientific efforts to understand and counter tree diseases. 

Planting ash archive

Dr. Jo Clark, Head of Research at Future Trees Trust, highlighted the project’s progress: “The ash trees were grafted at East Malling Research in Kent in January 2024, and have grown really well. Six ramets (copies) of each tree were grafted and this winter were planted in the original archive in Hampshire and in the new archive in Scotland. The planting of the new national tolerant ash archive in Scotland this year took a lot of preparation and planning, and seeing just under 5,000 ash dieback tolerant trees planted was hugely satisfying and a testament to the team. This work brings a lot of hope to the future of the species in the UK.” 

The Living Ash Project aims to identify a diverse number of Ash trees with good tolerance to Ash dieback, secure this material for further breeding, and make it available to the industry. The project’s success was showcased at the Future Trees Trust Annual Supporters Day, where keynote speakers from DEFRA and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew shared insights on the future of Ash tree conservation. 

For more information watch our video highlighting the project’s achievements below: