Environment
Scotland has a remarkable assemblage of species and habitats with Atlantic, montane, boreal, arctic-alpine, and oceanic habitats in close proximity. However, pests and pathogens represent an increasing threat to these natural assets, and a particular challenge is the sheer complexity of the diversity of the natural environment in terms of the number of species that may be impacted.
Scotland is internationally important for its resources of blanket bog, heather moorland, Atlantic rainforests, montane native woodland (e.g. Caledonian Pine forests) and high nature value farmland (e.g. machair). These habitat types represent a major tourism draw to Scotland as well as being of significant value for biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Increasing global trade is, however, resulting in native species encountering novel pests and pathogens, and in addition, changing climatic conditions can increase susceptibility of species in the natural environment to endemic plant health threats.
Access our resource bank on plant health issues for the natural environment here.
Projects
Impact: Informed the control efforts of Scottish Forestry by predicting the spread of D. micans in Scotland and identifying the high-risk areas of colonisation. This project built on methods developed under the RESAS SRP and led to work commissioned by Scottish Forestry to inform their surveillance and control programme in 2018.
Impact: Add to the evidence base underpinning public and sector-facing biosecurity campaigns and improve disease management and restrict spread of the disease.
Impact: This project will contribute to Scottish Government’s preparedness measures for the possible arrival of Xylella fastidiosa by ensuring surveillance monitoring is effective and by identifying the key knowledge gaps for effective surveillance.
Impact: Easily accessible tool for stakeholders and government plant health officials to assess possible impacts of climate on pests and pathogens in Scotland.
Compared to threats such as climate change and habitat fragmentation, plant health issues are poorly represented in international and national biodiversity strategies such as the Aichi Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, and the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. Work is thus required to provide strategic guidance on the inclusion of plant health threats into the next iteration of the biodiversity strategies.
Impact: Direct guidance and input for plant health issues into the new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy; best-practice example of plant health integration into national biodiversity planning (model for other countries).
The aim of this commission is to establish the template and initial population of a curated online resource bank for plant health threats to the natural environment in Scotland. This will include assembly of, or signposting to, available existing resources. Where applicable, it will also include authoritative distillations of the key issues targeted at non-specialists. Where there are conflicting sources of advice/recommendations, the scope is not to achieve reconciliation of these issues, but rather to simply note that different perspectives exist. The content will be housed on the Plant Health Centre website (https://www.planthealthcentre.scot/).
Impact: Increasing the accessibility of information for land managers with responsibility for the natural environment, but a lack of specialist expertise in plant health
Impact: Improved understanding of concepts and options amongst the Scottish stakeholder community; a basis for gap analysis by the PHC.
Impact: Improved understanding of concepts and options amongst stakeholder community in Scotland; a basis for gap analysis by PHC.
Impact: Improved risk assessment; better equipped stakeholders and government plant health officials; improved coordination of plant health activities in Scotland.
Although Xylella has so far not been detected in Scotland, an outbreak would have serious impacts on any host plant-related activities/businesses and the wider environment. An essential aspect of ensuring Scotland’s preparedness for the possible arrival of Xylella is to prepare a risk map for the likelihood of the arrival of Xylella together with the consequences for key elements of the Scottish economy (directly and indirectly impacted) in the event of an outbreak. Data relevant to the risk mapping for Scotland would include location of sites involved in plant imports, volume of plants imported, impact on business trading in plants if an outbreak is detected and the wider environmental impact.
Impact: This project will contribute to Scottish Government’s contingency and preparedness measures for the possible arrival of Xylella fastidiosa by mapping the risk of likelihood and impact of an outbreak.
Pagination
Publications
Threat: Oak Processionary Moth
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from Oak Processionary Moth to Scotland.
Threat: Bud worm
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from the Eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana), Western spruce budworm (C. freeman) and Black headed budworm (Acleris gloverana and A. variana) to Scotland
Threat: Emerald ash borer and Bronze birch borer
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from Emerald ash borer and Bronze birch borer to Scotland
Threat: Larger Eight toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus)
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from the larger eight toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) to Scotland
Threat: Longhorn beetles
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from longhorn beetles to Scotland
Threat: Phytophthora ramorum
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from Phytophthora ramorum to Scotland
Threat: Xylella fastidiosa
Status, Scottish specific issues, Plant Health Centre perspective and Key priorities and recommendations concerning the threat from Xylella fastidiosa to Scotland
Development of an online, user friendly plant health resource bank for the Scottish Natural Environment
The aim of the project PHC2018/11 was to compile a resource to be embedded within the Scottish Plant Health Centre (PHC) website, with the following three main purposes: 1) To direct users to existing, comprehensive and reliable plant health information resources; 2) To provide information on selected plant health threats to the natural environment, particularly invasive non-native species; and 3) To direct users to appropriate government agencies and resources and advise users on steps to take should a suspected statutory pest or disease be encountered.
Webpages have been developed which provide the following:
1) a listing of the first most pressing plant health threats to the natural environment in Scotland;
2) a user-friendly web template, populated with links to information about these major threats and other topics relevant to plant health in the Scottish natural environment; and
3) summary pages providing guidance on biosecurity and control of diseases in this sector, for which other resources were not easily available.
The use of mobile technology to enhance plant health monitoring and awareness in Scotland
The aim of the project was to review existing websites and smartphone apps currently available and applied in the plant health sector and to assemble a detailed overview covering the following points:
- What options are available in terms of mobile software applications for plant health?
- What is their primary purpose?
- Who is the target audience (growers, plant health professionals, citizen science, …)?
- Which plant health sectors do they cover?
- Are they reliable and accurate?
- Is information submitted to a central database? If so, how is this information used?
- Could they be used globally, or are they limited to certain geographic regions?
Difficult choices to protect gardens and the environment
Heritage gardens play an important role in plant conservation. They house collections gathered over decades or even hundreds of years, including varieties of plants that may be overlooked elsewhere, fostering heirloom varieties and preserving biological diversity that is the raw material of adaptation. As well as being beautiful and tranquil sites of cultural heritage, these ex-situ resources are treasure troves of biological diversity. Arduaine Gardens shows us that tough choices can be necessary and important to preserve these collections and the surrounding environment.