The Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar survey predicted that this year’s late spring following the coldest winter for 30 years would have a knock on effect in delaying autumn timings. Early indications through July and August seemed to show this.
However, Nature’s Calendar seems to be more complex in autumn than in spring and driven not just by temperature but a range of factors, including rainfall, which varied between extremes from month to month.
Despite the potential delay the Woodland Trust has still received an increase in queries regarding the colouring or browning of horse chestnut trees, being asked the question ‘Is it an early autumn in August or is something else happening?’ We’ll it isn’t early tinting it is actually caused by a hitch-hiking moth!
Cameraria ohridella, commonly know as horse chestnut leaf miner, was originally found on horse chestnut trees in London and in places along the M40 corridor. The larvae of this tiny form burrow within the leaf tissue, with heavy infestations resulting in leaf browning and drying and over time death.
Dr Kate Lewthwaite of the Woodland Trust explained: “The horse chestnut arrived in this country from Turkey 400 years ago and is now a common feature in many of the UK’s ancient woods, parks and road sides and has been a playground favourite for many years. But thanks to the leaf miner, trees with a heavy infestation may struggle to produce enough nutrients to grow good sized horse chestnuts and so school playgrounds across the UK may end up bereft of conker fights.”
“The leaf miner was first observed in Macedonia, in northern Greece, in 1985 before appearing unexpectedly in Austria in 1989. Since then it has spread throughout central and Eastern Europe. It was first found in Great Britain in 2002 in the London Borough of Wimbledon. Over the last few years its range has expanded north, travelling between 40 and 60 km annually, evidence suggests that the favoured mode of transport is inside cars!”
The Woodland Trust has been recording signs of autumn with the help of nature recorders across the UK for the last decade. These signs indicate how seasonal events are affected by changes in the climate year on year. Autumn has far less historical data recorded compared to spring so we need your help to understand these seasonal changes.
To find out more information and record autumn signs in 2010 visit www.naturescalendar.org.uk
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
Nature’s Calendar/ UK Phenology Network:
The UK Phenology Network is the result of a partnership between The Woodland Trust and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. It now has more than 50,000 registered recorders observing the signs of the changing seasons across the UK.
Phenology:
The study of the timing of natural seasonal events, especially in relation to climate. It includes trees leafing in spring and leaves turning colour and falling in autumn. The timing of natural events is sometimes known as ‘nature’s calendar’