Hi folks, a couple of questions about this Tree please.

Ok firstly, i've noticed that this Tree is on the increase along our road side/verges. Well, they are in the Valleys, is it the same near you.

I noticed the local Council out with their brushcutters the other day tackling the plant. I know the tree can take a good beating over most, is this why they are doing well. They are also fairly salt tolerant over most Trees so are the Gritters benefitting the plant.

Or are they able to exploit the exhaust fumes from cars, i know Nitrogen oxides build up around roads.

I can't find any related topics on the Web so any info would be gratefull, this one has been bugging me for a while.

HI Chris,
I think one of the main reasons you are seeing more Ash trees around you is to do with the way that they produce there seeds.
They are in very large numbers and with them being winged they can travel a bit of distance, and with them being by a road everytime a vehicle goes past it blows them a little further each time. The only place they can go to is onto the verges where they will quickly germinate and grow.
The Ash is a quick growing tree so it doesn't take them long to start getting a foot hold on the area.

Councils are normally obliged to keep certainly sections of the road side verges clear for that thay do not cause any sight problems to drivers, especially near junctions and corners.

I am not to sure about the grit issue, as the rock salt used on the roads is very toxic and will kill off most vegetation. We have even used it as a organic weed killer.

You could be right about the nitrogen issue, although all trees will take in the oxides. The Ash tree does seem to grow very well in high pollution areas.

Hope this clears a bit up for you.
Andy

Cheers Andy. It seems we have opened up a sort of "niche" for the tree, similar to the Railway and Oxford ragwort me thinks.

I believe your right about the Rock salt.

That's really interesting that the salt used is so toxic, does it do any damage to the vegetation around roads?

You will shortly see in the first foot or two off the carriageway of most of the winter salted roads in England, the small white flowers of Danish Scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica) a plant whose natural habitat is bare ground near the sea.

You know, I've been noticing this winter how Ash is in every roadside hedge too...

The increase in ash trees is not confined to the roadsides. My local woodland is becoming overrun by ash, so much so that the Trust that owns the woodland are carrying out major removal. This has come about in the last 10 - 20 years and may be linked to the loss of elm trees, certainly 30 years ago there were nothing like as many ash.

I can remember watching a programme i long while back about something like this. The rocksalt alowing coastal plants to move in, though i have not seen any near me ..yet.

I've found out Oak, Ash, some Cherry are very tolerant of the salt, some Birch and Maple moderatly tolerant, Beech having very little.

And the estimated splash zone of rocksalt from vehicle Tyres is, 40ft up..150ft horizontal in the right conditions.

That's very interesting, Ash growth in our woods seams to be "steady", or it might be biding it's time. I hope not, for we are having problems with Sycamore, and i've noticed Beech is starting to becoming dominant is some of our Oak woods.

In local woodland I haven't noticed any increase in Ash trees, and there doesn't seem to be a disproportionate amount around. I will keep more of a look out for them now though and report back.

Ash trees are very good at regenrating themselves - as 10 years ago or so an ash fell in strong gales here, only the stump remained, but over the years it has grown back & with the ash has also grown a silver birch - it's like they've joined limbs! There's also lots of Ash in the hedgerows here, but they've never been a problem, so this is the first time I've heard of this.

Been trawling the net and i think i've found the answer??

My area is mostly acidic, not very favourable for Ash, they are more Lime loving. Think this is one of the reasons why they can become dominant in Limestone areas.

It could be the roads around me have used Limestone ballast, thus creating more favourable conditions for Ash. This may be why i'm seeing much more on road sides to that of the Woods, along with thier higher salt/polution tolerance, ability to grow and regen quickly and seed dispersal. I can know sleep more easily