Europe is home to some of the most amazing trees such as the ash, elm and rowan trees, all of which are found exclusively in Europe. Unfortunately now a study has revealed that they’re declining and are at high risk of extinction due to invasive diseases, pests, pollution and urban development taking a toll on the landscape. This makes it difficult and could certainly complicate efforts to tackle the climate crises through reforestation.

David Allen of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), who produced the study:

“It is a threat. It is not just the naturally occurring trees and woodlands, it is also some of the big commercial conifers that are threatened by invasive species.”

How Do Invasive Species Enter The Forest?

The invasive species enters through the trade of plants or untreated timber. This is the largest threat to the native trees. Not only are these trees found only in Europe, but sometimes only in one Valley or region!

Countries such as the UK want to import more saplings to help draw out the carbon from the atmosphere. Although, it’s very important for young trees to be carefully screened to avoid any diseases and pests entering the country that would eventually deplete the existing forests. “We are encouraged to plant more trees, quite rightly, but we have to be very careful to ensure they don’t come with pest species. We need to be very careful about biosecurity,” Allen said.

Greatest Risk

The IUCN’s European red list of trees found that 58% of the continent’s 454 native trees are threatened and 15% (66 species) are critically endangered.

Sorbus leyana, also known as Ley’s whitebeam at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. Credit: Col Ford and Natasha de Vere

Those at greatest risk are in the Sorbus genus. These include the rowan, mountain ash, and Ley’s whitebeam, all of which are located in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Researchers note this particular tree is a recent hybrid and from the beginning of time there was always a very small population in a restricted area, so the knock-on effects are likely to be small.

Invasive Species

Tim Rich, a contributor to the study, was alarmed by the number of dying ash trees due to an invasive fungus. He said:

“I’ve been keeping an eye on it over the past five years. Last year, I began to get quite worried. This year, huge areas are experiencing a dieback and it’s not just affecting saplings like it was before. Now it’s whole big trees. I drove in some parts of Pembrokeshire recently, and every five or 10 metres there was an ash tree dead or dying. This is a major problem – way worse than I expected it to be.”

The horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) native to southeastern Europe is beloved by generations that played conkers as children in playground games. The shiny polished brown conker inside its spiked fruit is the highlight of the tree because, without it, there is no conkers game. The tree has been classified as vulnerable due to the spread of an invasive leaf-miner moth that damages its leaves. This can also add to existing pressures from forest fires.

Not only are trees dying from invasive fungus and leaf miner moths but also from tourist resort expansions, unsustainable logging, housing estates, pig farms, and some are negatively affected by excessive nitrogen depositions from air pollution.

Overlooked Species

In order to determine priorities for conservation, the European red list examined the status of overlooked species. They found that nearly 20-50% of terrestrial mollusks, shrubs, and bryophytes, such as moss and liverworts, are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, expanded agriculture and climate change. These species may not be glamorous but they do play a vital role in natural life support systems through oxygen production, food production, recycling nutrients, and soil regeneration.

European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) photographed at dawn in October 2008, in Co. Wicklow in Ireland. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

“The high extinction threats revealed by the European red list are very alarming, given that 92% of the mollusc species native to Europe are endemic to the continent. Thus, once these species are lost from Europe, they are gone for ever. In order to restore terrestrial mollusc numbers in Europe, essential changes will be needed in policies relating to land use, along with careful control of urbanisation and sustainable management of semi-natural areas.”

Forests are literally being eaten away, along with any natural environment that still stands. There needs to be more protected areas, improved monitoring and increased research on forests and individual tree species. Otherwise, there will be no more forests left in this world to save.

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