It’s National Tree Week! 🌳

It’s National Tree Week! 🌳

This week it is important to highlight and understand the importance of trees in Ireland. Ireland’s native trees are important ecologically and culturally. Our most common native trees include Ash, Oak, Hazel, Birch, Willow, Rowan and Scots Pine. Some of our native trees face a number of challenges, deforestation and habitat loss, soil degradation and invasive species to name a few. Rhododendron ponticum is a high impact invasive plant species that has become established in Ireland (See picture 2). Rhododendron can form dense thickets that shades out saplings of Oak, Scots Pine, Birch, etc. This prevents regeneration of native species leading to Rhododendron becoming dominant that has knock on effects for local ecosystems.

Rhododendron ponticum can be treated mechanically by removal, cutting and pulling up small juvenile plants. Herbicide treatment can also be effective.Ash dieback is a disease caused by the invasive fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus that originated in Asia. Ash Dieback was first recorded in Ireland in 2012 and has swept across the country since. This disease can be fatal, especially in juvenile trees. Symptoms of Ash dieback include the wilting of leaves, brown lesions or spots on leaves, dry necrotic spots on the branches and stems, dark brown diamond shaped lesions on the bark and epicormic growth which is where new shoots emerge further down the trunk of the tree.

See the Tree Council of Ireland's website for details on upcoming events and more information.