The SMARTIES project - The Surveillance and Management of multiple Risks to Treescapes - will deliver a merger of natural and social sciences to tackle what are arguably two of the most devastating threats to tree-health in the UK today.

Further details are highlighted in the Defra 2019 report Conserving our ash trees and mitigating the impacts of pests and diseases of ash: A vision and high-level strategy for ash research

We aspire to create innovative models that will elucidate the complex interactions surrounding the management of multiple pests and diseases that threaten UK tree-scapes. 

The issue

The health of UK ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior) is under threat from ash dieback (ADB), a disease caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus which has had devastating effects on European Ash trees in the UK and across Europe. This has resulted in enormous social, economic and ecological impacts, causing an estimated loss of ÂŁ15 billion to the UK economy. Loss of ash from the landscape has wide ranging ecological impacts, including direct effects to the many species it supports.

In addition to this, ash trees in the UK are threatened by a potential invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, considered one of the most dangerous invasive pests. While EAB is not yet present in the UK it is moving west from Russia posing a threat to the UK and other parts of Europe.

Contact us

Alison Dyke
Research area lead

alison.dyke@york.ac.uk

The proposed work will consider the outcomes of epidemic models which are influenced by the actions of individual land-managers with a diverse range of goals, behaviours and values, and who interact to shape opinion through a range of local and national networks. Our research will result in practical recommendations that will improve the management of UK tree-scapes.

The research

 

Helping our trees

Mixing natural and social science approaches to address tree health

Understanding the threats

We'll create innovative models to understand threats of pests and diseases

Having an impact

We'll make recommendations to improve management of UK treescapes

Our scientific aim is to elucidate the key epidemiological and behavioural factors that govern the invasion and spread of multiple threats to tree health and so determine what makes successful surveillance and management at a whole system level, rather than on a pest by pest basis.

To do this we shall adopt a multidisciplinary approach combining epidemiology with the behavioural dynamics underlying land-manager decisions on pest control. This will be achieved by the following interlinked objectives:

Project details

Start: 2020
End: 2023
Funder: UKRI
Collaborators: Rothamsted Research, University of Salford, Forest Research
Region: Europe
Country: UK

Contact us

Alison Dyke
Research area lead

alison.dyke@york.ac.uk