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.
Knowledge Bank
Projects
Impact: Determine the main barriers to ensuring that future planting for environmental restoration and conservation will minimise plant health risks.
Impact: Provide Scottish Government policy with an assessment of the major biosecurity pitfalls and opportunities arising from large-scale landscaping plantings.
Impact: This project will enable policy to identify and prioritise plant biosecurity vulnerabilities from non-specialist and online horticultural sales.
Impact: Timely management and prioritisation of policy to manage P. ramorum and facilitate early forecasting of other Phytophthora outbreaks.
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 PHC 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
Pagination
Publications
PHC2020/09: Economic Impact of Pesticide Withdrawals to Scotland, with Case Studies
Chemical forms of plant protection are widely used in Scottish agricultural, horticultural and forestry production plus for amenity and natural environment management purposes. The availability and use of active substances in pesticides are closely regulated and increasing concern over human health and environmental impacts has led to a greater likelihood that some existing approvals will be withdrawn and/or that approvals for new products will not be granted. Potential impacts from withdrawal of these pesticides are of policy interest and this summary report builds on the data and results from project PHC2020/15 (Potential impacts arising from pesticide withdrawals to Scotland’s plant health) and uses case studies to understand the likely magnitude and distribution of potential impacts and how they may be mitigated.
PHC2018/15: Potential Impacts Arising from Pesticide Withdrawals to Scotland’s Plant Health
The use of pesticides to manage plant pests and diseases is a key management intervention across plant health sectors, particularly in agriculture, horticulture and commercial forestry production. Pesticide withdrawals through legislation, coupled with resistance development and their impact on plant health, have emerged as key concerns for Scottish plant health stakeholders. This project quantifies the impacts on Scottish plant health that will arise from pesticide withdrawal scenarios and sets this in the context and time frame of alternative management tools.
Expansion of PHC Online Plant Health Resources
This project has expanded the PHC online Resource Bank for plant health threats to the Natural Environment sector in Scotland to include information sources for the remaining three sectors (Forestry, Agriculture and Horticulture). Information sources for Forestry, Agriculture and Horticulture were compiled and evaluated, and a Knowledge Bank relevant to each sector is now online at the PHC website, creating a comprehensive and unique signposting resource for plant health information with relevance to Scotland.
Impact of climate change on the spread of pests and diseases in Scotland
This project constructed a modelling framework which combined epidemiological and economic modelling. The modelling framework was used to study predictions of spread and economic impact of pests which are not currently in the UK, including Xylella fastidiosa, Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (Zebra chip) and Ips typographus (Eight toothed Spruce Bark Beetle).
Impact: A web/desktop application is available to the PHC and Scottish Government to analyse the effects of climate change on the spread and economic impact of new threats.
18-Month Review Summary Leaflet
The Plant Health Centre completed an in-depth review of its first 18-months of activity for our funder (the Scottish Government through RESAS) in September 2019. While the full report is not yet available to the public, we have created a summary leaflet that outlines out achievements over this period.
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.