TreeAlert update launched
TreeAlert, the tree pest and disease reporting tool, has been updated to give registered users access to two years’ worth of reports. This facility will help stakeholders understand what is happening with tree pests and diseases in their local area and around the country, and has the potential to benefit landscape professionals as well as biosecurity.
TreeAlert is an online reporting tool designed to act as an early warning system for pests and diseases, managed by Forest Research with funding from Defra, Forestry Commission, Scottish Forestry and Welsh Government.
The system allows professionals and members of the public to report suspected pests and diseases and can act as an early warning system for rising threats. In addition to general reports, specific pest or disease reports may be completed for Chalara Dieback of Ash, Dothistroma Needle Blight, Acute Oak Decline, Phytophthora lateralis, Asian Longhorn Beetle and Oak Processionary Moth.
Tree Alert users can also record information about healthy trees to help researchers understand pest and disease reports in context.
Reports submitted to TreeAlert by stakeholders are checked by Forest Research’s Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service (THDAS), who provide impartial advice, and where possible, diagnosis and identification of pests and pathogens on trees in Great Britain. The service has been running since the 1960s, and enquiries and samples are received from across Great Britain and occasionally further afield.
Further reading
Forest Research news article: TreeAlert launches new user dashboard