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Leone Olivieri and Racheal Lee by monitoring instrumentation in an area of recently-felled woodland.

Leone Olivieri and Racheal Lee by monitoring instrumentation in an area of recently-felled woodland.The Welsh Plant Health Surveillance Network (WPHSN) is a ground-breaking Welsh Government funded project designed to monitor native and invasive pests and pathogens that can pose a threat to health of plants and trees across Wales. Insect and spore traps installed at strategic woodland sites will allow us to record presence and/or abundance of insects and fungal spores. The insect samples are typically analysed by staff in Wales while others, and all the collected spores, are sent to our state-of-the-art plant health facilities at Alice Holt for in-depth laboratory testing. Data from the WPHSN will be used to inform the development of priority goals and policies relating to woodland management in Wales.

Full reviews of the first two fieldwork seasons are available for download below.  These documents describe and report on the activities undertaken in each year of this innovative project.  We have also produced a brief summary of key information contained in the 2023 report.

Research objectives

Racheal Lee sampling for bark beetles in a log from the stem of a felled conifer.The objective of this ongoing research is to deliver the tree-based component of the Welsh Plant Health Surveillance Network (WPHSN), a Welsh Government plant health initiative. Biological samples collected by FR staff based in Wales are securely sent for analysis and diagnosis by Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service laboratory staff based at Alice Holt and the Northern Research Station. Within the WPHSN, we will:

  • deploy spore and insect traps across Welsh woodlands;
  • collect data and build a distribution map of pests and pathogens, recording their abundance;
  • assist with decision-making processes and informing the development of future policies and procedures relating to woodland management in Wales; and
  • work with external agencies to grow a plant health surveillance network, allowing information and advice to be readily shared with the sector and providing accessible practical support for the early detection and identification of pests and pathogens.

Latest updates

2023 – the second season

2022 – the first season

 

Our Involvement

Racheal Lee (L) and Leone Olivieri (R) preparing to engage in an informal knowledge exchange event at the 2023 Royal Welsh Show.

  • Research and development activities.
  • Field surveys.
  • Laboratory analyses.
  • Data recording.
  • Reporting to plant health officials in Wales.
  • Collaboration with external agencies.
  • Developing public awareness e.g., through knowledge exchange activities, digital media, and at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.

 

Downloads

Welsh Plant Health Surveillance Network Programme: 2022 review

PDF, 2.71 MB

An account of the activities and outcomes of the first year of this study.

Welsh Plant Health Surveillance Network Programme: 2023 review

PDF, 3.03 MB

An account of the activities and outcomes from the second full year of fieldwork.

The Welsh Plant Health Surveillance Network

PDF, 0.68 MB

Racheal Lee (2024) The Welsh Plant Health Surveillance Network BGjournal. Volume 21 (2), pp. 60-62. (Reproduced by kind permission of Botanic Gardens Conservation International.)

Funding & partners
  • llywodraeth cymru welsh governmentThis work is funded by the Welsh Government.

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Publications

The threat to UK conifer forests posed by Ips bark beetles

This Report describes the biological and environmental factors that influence attack frequency and severity from Ips bark beetles and assesses strategies for their management, with emphasis on the major threat posed by I. typographus.