Objective
This proposal covers new ground and has not been the subject of any previous proposal to the EU. It concerns a destructive disease of alder and is directly relevant to two areas in the Agriculture and Forestry Work Programme viz. 4.4.1 (Plant Health) and 4.5.3 (Conservation in Forest Ecosystems). Alder (Alnus) is an important genus of trees across Europe. There is an increasing commercial interest in the timber of alder and alders are the dominant species in huge areas of natural woodland. Through a symbiotic association with a microorganism, alder has a remarkable ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and this had made it the genus of choice for planting on various types of disturbed soil. In 1993 a lethal new disease of A. glutinosa, affecting the lower stem and roots, was identified in the UK. It soon became clear that thousands of trees, mainly along riversides, had died. The disease is caused by an unusual form of the fungus Phytophthora cambivora, well known as a pathogen of broadleaved trees but not previously recorded on alder. Because of possible quarantine implications, a report was made to the EU Standing Committee of Plant Health in April 1995 and information on the characteristics of the disease was disseminated. In January 1996, an ad hoc working group on the disease was convened in Brussels, under the auspices of the Standing Committee. By that time, it had become clear that the disease was also present in various other EU countries, and it was decided that, before any plant health regulations could be introduced more information was required. To progress matters further an informal meeting was held in the UK in June 1996 involving scientists from 8 European countries. This proposal for a Concerted Action has been developed from that meeting. The main objectives are: 1. To produce a description of the recently described Phytophthora disease of alder in its various manifestations in different alder species and habitats across Europe, so as to distinguish it from other diseases of alder. 2. To take the census of what is done with the forest harvesting residues. 3. To analyse the most innovator or interesting systems and machinery for residues elimination/utilisation considering their efficiency and cost, and also the environmental impacts. 4. To analyse and discuss optimal systems for elimination or the good use of forest residues according to soil conditions, stand density and management practices. 5. To elaborate a written document with proposals conceming the integration of the most adequate systems for forest residues elimination or good use, considering forest fire prevention/protection and soil fertility conservation and to define guidelines for future ,research activities. highlighting renewed interest in their agricultural and environmental functions. The former have been the object of scientific study for many years (e. g., bioclimatic influence of hedgerows on crops and livestock breeding). Interest in the latter is more recent, with research focusing on the impact of hedgerows rate of disease intensification in localities where it is present. 3. To evaluate information on the characteristics and relationships of the alder Phytophthora' and to determine whether it has the potential to destroy the alder populations of Europe. 4. To evaluate data on the various mechanisms of disease transmission, and in process to determine if trade pathways, e.g. through the movements of plants and timber, have the potential to contribute to long-distance spread of the pathogen. 5. To determine the likely benefit of various approaches to disease management and control, and to identify research opportunities in this respect.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagronomyplant protection
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycology
- social sciencessociologydemographycensus
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and management
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Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CON - Coordination of research actionsCoordinator
FARNHAM
United Kingdom