These is a report from our BSPP funded Event Organisation Fund. Click here to read more and apply for one yourself.
The FraxNet Meeting
In November 2023, the BSPP sponsored the first meeting of FraxNet, a new European network bringing together researchers of European ash pests and diseases. The one day meeting was held after the fascinating Creating Canopy Meeting organised by the AAB Tree and Forest Biology Group at the Jubilee campus, Nottingham University.
We were delighted to welcome Michelle Cleary from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. She gave an introduction to ash dieback and the work that has been on going in Sweden to understand the impacts of this disease, particularly to understand how resistant the Swedish population of ash trees are and the ongoing monitoring work. They are also investigating new techniques such as spectrophotometry to identify less susceptible trees.
Another invited speaker was Dr Jennifer Koch, USDA, who joined us online from the US. Jennifer has a wealth of experience on Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and delivered a great talk which highlighted the importance of really understanding this pest before it invades Europe. We can learn a lot from the experience in the US.
Dr Ruth Mitchell from the James Hutton Institute gave a fascinating talk on her work on the ecology and biodiversity impacts of ash loss. This included what species can support the species usually found on ash and how networks of ash could be arranged to limit the damage caused by ADB and improve connectivity between ash trees for wildlife benefits.
As well as invited speakers the sessions were opened to other ash researchers and there were many great talks on the ongoing work on ash dieback. Much of this was focussed on understanding how resistance operates, in particular at the genomic level. These talks demonstrate how we are beginning to understand the complexity of resistance to this disease. This will allow us to develop a robust plan for reviving ash across Europe – a major aim of ash researchers.
Emerald ash borer is a very real threat to ash in Europe. It is now present in Ukraine and therefore only a matter of time before it spreads. The work happening already at containment facilities in Europe was fantastic to hear about. This meeting really brought together our current understanding of EAB and the threat it poses in Europe.
The meeting was also hosted online and the sponsorship from the BSPP allowed us to hire a professional company to seamlessly present all the presentations online. We got good feedback from those that joined the meeting online that this worked well.
The FraxNet meeting brought together many researchers from across Europe and the UK, including many early career researchers, as well as practitioners and policy makers. Having this meeting as a satellite to the Creating Canopy meeting meant that we got a wider audience that would usually be the case for this type of specialised meeting.
Many thanks to the BSPP for sponsoring this meeting allowing it to be the success it was. I also thank Defra for their ongoing support and the Association of Applied Biologist, particularly the newly formed Tree and Forest Biology group.
If you would like to be part of the FraxNet project please email Elizabeth.orton@jic.ac.uk to be placed on the mailing list. The Euphresco project will start officially in April 2024 for 3 years.
Elizabeth Orton
John Innes Centre
IMAGE: Presenting at the Creating Canopy Meeting demonstrating the excellent AV set up
