European ash regeneration and restoration: challenges and solutions
Datum:
Ort:
WSL Birmensdorf, Hörsaal, and Zoom-Webinar
Organisiert von:
WSL
Vortrag:
Prof. Dr. Michelle Cleary, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Moderation:
Valentin Queloz
Sprache(n):
English
Veranstaltungstyp:
Distinguished Lectures
Zielpublikum:
everybody interested in this topic
(The Zoom link will be activated shortly before the lecture.)
For several decades now, the invasive ascomycete fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus has caused a serious, steady population decline of common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) across Europe. This decline in ash populations in Sweden caused the species to become Red-listed in 2010, and since 2015 its status has only worsened to become critically endangered. This is concerning not only for because of its importance in noble broadleaved forestry but also for the implications to biodiversity given its role as a keystone species in temperate broadleaved forests. Some progress has been made via Sweden’s national project “Save The Ash” whereby elite genotypes selected for better tolerance are being are being screened with the intent for strong forward selection ad scaling up for commercial production to make available to forest owners. This next phase towards restoration however presents several new challenges. In this talk, I will focus on current and future work that addresses these challenges.