There's a Fungus Among Us

I read an article on BBC’s website posted on 27 October 2012, the article was titled “Ash tree import ban to halt disease”.  This article is about a resent ban on the import of ash trees to the UK. The ban will come into force on Monday. The cause is a fungal disease that was found in the UK. This disease kills ash trees. The disease hurt the ash tree population on Europe’s mainland particularly in Denmark where 90% of the population was killed. The disease outbreak was contained in the UK as of early this week. One major point made in the article was many thought the decision to ban the ash tree import should have been made when the outbreaks were occurring in places like Denmark. One member of the Horticultural Trade Association says that “As a trade we're very frustrated about it, because in 2009 we saw it out in Denmark on trees and we said you should ban imports now.”

The fungi’s scientific name is Chalara fraxinea or C. fraxinea as abbreviated in the article. Using what I learned in Biology I am able to determine that this fungi’s relationship to the ash tree is parasitic. The fungus lives on the tree and uses its resources and energy it creates. This causes the tree to loose leaves and develop crown dieback.  The tree suffers and the fungi thrives therefore the fungi is a parasite.

I think that when it comes to environmental issues governments are slow to react. With our environment being changed by human so fast an equally fast reaction is needed. Though it should be the environment is not a priority to most governments. In the US we are lucky to have a government that takes the environment into account somewhat. In some countries such as China the government doesn’t care about the environment and can therefore be an industrial center with the ability to make cheap plastic. Though China is an extreme example of a government not caring about the environment, in places like the US and Britain the government can be slow to react. This article is an example of the result this slow reaction can cause.

Image: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/30/ash-tree-crisis-dieback-disease?newsfeed=true

Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20107186