Ancient Tree Forum

22nd May 2002 This autumn some of the Ramblers Association Walking Week walks will be looking for Elms which have survived the ravages of Dutch elm disease. For more information click here Caption: A survivor! a very old elm with a 6m girth photo David Alderman Tree Register Caption A survivor – an old pollard wych elm on the banks of Ullswater Photo Jill Butler		This autumn The Natural History Museum/English Nature UK Biodiversity Team is teaming up with The Ramblers Association and ourselves to look for some of Britain’s remaining elms. The Ramblers Association will be hosting Elm Map walks during their Welcome to Walking Week from 20 to 28 September when people will be asked to look out for elm trees. The survey highlights the importance of elms as habitats for some of the country’s rarest and most threatened species such as the Orange-fruited elm lichen and the White-letter hairstreak butterfly. The Woodland Trust and the Ancient Tree Forum are supporting this project because we want to find out where ancient elms survive. In addition the British Bryological Society and the British Lichen Society will participate – they will send out experienced surveyors to look at any elms recorded to see if they are host to rare organisms. The information captured will contribute to a national register of ancient trees being developed by us with The Ancient Tree Forum and The Tree Register. The Ramblers’ walk leaders will have information packs with identification guides and will hand out fact sheets to those joining the walks. However we would like to hear from you if you would be willing to support a walk if there is one near you. We believe it would be a good opportunity to support the leaders and share your expertise of woodland and trees with walkers. For centuries our landscape was populated by elm trees. To you and me the loss of so many mature trees from the landscape affected the quality of our lives but for many organisms they lost their habitat essential for their survival. Elms support a unique community, from lichens and mosses to beetles and butterflies. Some of these species are only found on elm trees or are totally dependent on the elm for survival. The elm is the only known host for larvae of the White-letter hairstreak butterfly and an important food plant for the White-spotted pinion moth. Approximately 200 lichen species have been reported on elm trees with only beech, ash and oak supporting more species. This species richness is largely due to the water-retentive properties and low acidity of the elm's bark. Since the mid-1970s Britain has lost more than 20 million elms to disease – a devastating blow to these magnificent trees and the life they support. For more information about the walks please see www.ramblers.org.uk/elms OR if you have information about elms then click here

Walk and find – help us put mature and ancient elms on the map