Yes, Graham, I agree that the trees must be rather stressed (like everything else, as you said, including us) as otherwise fungi would not be able to get such a big hold. And maybe non-native trees are more prone to attack by fungi anyway, or more prone to stress, or both, but I don't know. But the cause of stress cannot really be drought with the damp summer we have had, surely? Maybe it was last winter's cold, but i don't know. I still think that the way forward is to allow new trees to grow. And I am not saying planting new ones, as I would suggest they are probably more likely to succumb than big old well-established ones, do you think?
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The weblog below is for naturalists to use to report interesting sightings, ask questions, report on field meetings and generally post pictures and any information or questions generally relevant in some way to the wildlife and geology of Essex. You will need to register and be logged-on to post to the forum, and you need to upload pictures first, for use in posts. Find out more