Hope for the ash: Experts discover resistant trees in the national park!

Hope for the ash: Experts discover resistant trees in the national park!

In the National Park Donau-Auen, some common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) surprisingly show resilience against the excessive pathogen of the ash drive death, as Katharina Schwanda from the Federal Research Center for Forest (BFW) reports. Despite years of infestation, about four percent of these trees are only slightly damaged. This discovery gives rise to hope that the ash, one of the most important hardwood types of the meadow landscapes, may not have to be abandoned. However, the infection pressure through the hose mushroom, known as an ash stem checks (hymenos encyphus fraxineus), is enormous in the floodplains. The optimal conditions of the moist climate enable the mushroom to affect many ashes. "If an ash stays reasonably healthy there, it means something," explains Schwanda.

hope for the future of the ash

The meaning of the ash extends beyond their ecological role. In a comprehensive breeding program, researchers are working on collecting seeds of potentially resistant ash. These young trees that are used in the test garden in Tulln could be planted again in selected locations in the national park. Schwanda states: "With this Initiative, a new inventory could establish itself in the outer forests of the eastern lowlands in the future." The investigations also show that ash tends to fall less seriously in mixed stocks than in purely pure stocks, which influences strategies to preserve the species. The goal remains clear: do not give up the ash in the floodplains, especially after other tree species like Ulmen have disappeared through epidemics.

The comprehensive studies of the BFW have been carried out since 2016 and comprised a total of 700 ash on 35 test areas. The current report shows that almost all ash is affected by the disease, but some specimens have a certain tolerance against the pathogen. The idea of ​​using such tolerances could be the key to saving this important tree species in the floodplain. The researchers appeal to forest owners to maintain healthy ash and give nature a chance to regenerate themselves. The preservation of these impressive trees is therefore under a hopeful star, and the efforts to rescue the ash are absorbed as well as the reports of Noen.at illustrate.