Overvåking av askeskuddsyke

Askeskuddsyken har herjet i Europa siden tidlig 1990-tallet. Den ble først oppdaget i Polen og har siden spredt seg gjennom de fleste områdene i Europa hvor vanlig ask forekommer. Askeskuddsyken truer aska på hele det europeiske kontinentet, og aska er nå rødlistet i mange land. Askeskuddsyke forårsakes av en liten begersopp, askeskuddbeger. Askeskuddbeger er et eksempel på en invaderende, fremmed art som har forårsaket store skader utafor sitt naturlige utbredelsesområde i Asia, og selv om den kan spre seg naturlig over store avstander med sine sporer, har spredningen blitt godt hjulpet av import og handel med infiserte askeplanter.

Collage friskt skadd dødt
Foto: Volkmar Timmermann
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Askeskuddbegers fruktlegemer vokser på bladstilker. Fruktlegemene er 2-9 mm i diameter. Foto: Volkmar Timmermann.
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Askeskuddbegers sporer og asci. Sporene er ca 18-19 μm lange. Foto: Volkmar Timmermann.
Les mer om spredning av askeskuddsyke i Norge
Askeskuddsyke ble først oppdaget i Polen tidlig på 1990-tallet. Man observerte da en tiltagende visning hos asketrær i de nordøstre deler av Polen. Sykdommen spredte seg etter hvert til nabolandene. Siden årsaken var ukjent, ble det ikke satt i gang kontrolltiltak som for eksempel begrensning av handel med askeplanter for å forhindre spredningen over landegrensene. Først i 2006 ble årsaken funnet, en sopp som senere har fått navnet Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, på norsk askeskuddbeger.

Soppen utvikler små begre på fjorårets askebladstilker i skogbunnen og den kan spre seg naturlig over store avstander med sine sporer. Sporene infiserer bladene på asketrærne i løpet av vekstsesongen, og soppen sprer seg derfra videre til greinene og til stammen. Infeksjonen forårsaker nekroser i bladene og bladstilkene, og i vinterhvilen i greinene og stammen med bladvisning og skudd- og greinavdøing som følge. Gjentatte angrep over flere år vil til slutt kunne drepe hele treet, ofte i samspill med andre faktorer.

Askeskuddbeger er vanlig i Øst-Asia på bl.a. mandsjuriaask (Fraxinus mandshurica), hvor den kun forårsaker harmløse bladflekkskader. Askeskuddbeger er et eksempel på en invaderende art som oppfører seg annerledes i møte med en ny vert og som har forårsaket store skader utafor sitt naturlige utbredelsesområde. Den har blitt en trussel for europeisk ask (F. excelsior) etter at den har spredd seg med rekordfart gjennom Europa, godt hjulpet av import og handel med infiserte askeplanter. Tilbakegangen av ask og påfølgende treslagsskifte har store implikasjoner for det europeiske skogbruket, men også for biomangfoldet siden det er hundrevis av arter som er knyttet til ask, og ask er nå rødlistet i mange land. I dag er det kun noen få regioner igjen i Europa som ennå ikke er berørt av denne sykdommen.

Siden 2009 har vi fulgt spredningen av askeskuddsyke nordover på Vestlandet og sykdomsutviklingen på enkelttrær og i bestand på våre overvåkingsflater på Øst-, Sør- og Vestlandet. Vi har også overvåket soppens sporespredning i to askebestand i Ås og i Bergen/Fana over flere år.
 
Askeskuddsyke har siden 2006 spredt seg gjennom hele askas naturlige utbredelsesområde i Norge. Resultater fra overvåkingen viser at skadeutviklingen skjer fort, også i områder hvor sykdommen bare har vært til stede i noen få år, eller som er relativt isolerte fra andre askeforekomster. Skadeomfanget øker fra år til år, og mortaliteten er høy, særlig blant de yngste trærne. Fortsatt fins det noen friske asketrær igjen på overvåkingsflatene, noe som gir håp om genetisk betinget motstandsdyktighet mot sykdommen hos noen enkeltindivider.

Les mer om askeskuddsyke i våre årlige rapporter fra skogskadeovervåkingen og i vår serie med faktaark (NIBIO POP 3(2–7) 2017).

Publikasjoner

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Sammendrag

The ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus has spread across most of the host range of European ash with a high level of mortality, causing important economic, cultural and environmental effects. We present a novel method combining a Monte-Carlo approach with a generalised additive model that confirms the importance of meteorology to the magnitude and timing of H. fraxineus spore emissions. The variability in model selection and the relative degree to which our models are over- or under-fitting the data has been quantified. We find that both the daily magnitude and timing of spore emissions are affected by meteorology during and prior to the spore emission diurnal peak. We found the daily emission magnitude has the strongest associations to weekly average net radiation and leaf moisture before the emission, soil temperature during the day before emission and net radiation during the spore emission. The timing of the daily peak in spore emissions has the strongest associations to net radiation both during spore emission and in the day preceding the emission. The seasonal peak in spore emissions has a near-exponential increase/decrease, and the mean daily emission peak is approximately Gaussian.

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Sammendrag

European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is threatened by the invasive ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus originating from Asia. Ash leaf tissues serve as a route for shoot infection but also as a sporulation substrate for this pathogen. Knowledge of the leaf niche partitioning by indigenous fungi and H. fraxineus is needed to understand the fungal community receptiveness to the invasion. We subjected DNA extracted from unwashed and washed leaflets of healthy and diseased European ash to PacBio sequencing of the fungal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region. Leaflets from co-inhabiting rowan trees (Sorbus aucuparia) served as a reference. The overlap in leaflet mycobiomes between ash and rowan was remarkably high, but unlike in rowan, in ash leaflets the sequence read proportion, and the qPCR-based DNA amount estimates of H. fraxineus increased vigorously towards autumn, concomitant with a significant decline in overall fungal richness. The niche of ash and rowan leaves was dominated by epiphytic propagules (Vishniacozyma yeasts, the dimorphic fungus Aureobasidion pullulans and the dematiaceous hyphomycete Cladosporium ramotenellum and H. fraxineus), and endophytic thalli of biotrophs (Phyllactinia and Taphrina species), the indigenous necrotroph Venturia fraxini and H. fraxineus. Mycobiome comparison between healthy and symptomatic European ash leaflets revealed no significant differences in relative abundance of H. fraxineus, but A. pullulans was more prevalent in symptomatic trees. The impacts of host specificity, spatiotemporal niche partitioning, species carbon utilization profiles and life cycle traits are discussed to understand the ecological success of H. fraxineus in Europe. Further, the inherent limitations of different experimental approaches in the profiling of foliicolous fungi are addressed.

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Determining the impacts of invasive pathogens on tree mortality and growth is a difficult task, in particular in the case of species occurring naturally at low frequencies in mixed stands. In this study, we quantify such effects by comparing national forest inventory data collected before and after pathogen invasion. In Norway, Fraxinus excelsior is a minor species representing less than 1% of the trees in the forests and being attacked by the invasive pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus since 2006. By studying deviations between inventories, we estimated a 74% higher-than-expected average ash mortality and a 13% slower-than-expected growth of the surviving ash trees, indicating a lack of compensation by the remaining ash. We could confidently assign mortality and growth losses to ash dieback as no mortality or growth shifts were observed for co-occurring tree species in the same plots. The mortality comparisons also show regional patterns with higher mortality in areas with the longest disease history in Norway. Considering that ash is currently mostly growing in mixed forests and that no signs of compensation were observed by the surviving ash trees, a significant habitat loss and niche replacement could be anticipated in the mid-term.

Sammendrag

Dieback of European ash, caused by the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus originating from Asia, has rapidly spread across Europe, and is threatening this keystone tree at a continental scale. High propagule pressure is characteristic to invasive species. Consistently, the enormous production of windborne ascospores by H. fraxineus in an ash forest with epidemic level of disease obviously facilitates its invasiveness and long distance spread. To understand the rate of build-up of propagule pressure by this pathogen following its local introduction, during 2011–2017 we monitored its sporulation at a newly infested ash stand in south-western Norway characterized with mild winters and cool summers. We also monitored the propagule pressure by Hymenoscyphus albidus, a non-pathogenic native species that competes for the same sporulation niche with H. fraxineus. During the monitoring period, crown condition of ash trees had impaired, and 20% of the dominant trees were severely damaged in 2017. H. fraxineus showed an exponential increase in spore production between 2012 and 2015, followed by drastic decline in 2016 and 2017. During 2011–2013, the two Hymenoscyphus species showed similar sporulation level, but thereafter spores of H. albidus were no longer detected. The data suggest that following local introduction, the population of H. fraxineus reaches rapidly an exponential growth stage if the local weather conditions are favorable for ascomata maturation across years. In the North Atlantic climate, summer temperatures critically influence the pathogen infection pressure, warm summers allowing the population to grow according to its biotic potential, whereas cold summers can cause a drastic decline in propagule pressure.

Sammendrag

Askeskuddsjuke forårsakes av en liten sopp, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, på norsk kalt askeskuddbeger. Sjukdommen har i løpet av kort tid spredd seg over store deler av Europas askeskoger. Soppen er en fremmed art som trolig stammer fra Asia hvor den er assosiert med asketrær som er nær beslektet med europeisk ask. Det er særlig unge trær som er utsatt, men også eldre trær kan drepes over tid. Mye er uklart angående hvordan soppen infiserer, men sporene spres med vind til bladene på asketrær. Dersom soppen klarer å vokse forbi bladfestet før bladfall vil den i løpet av vinteren angripe greinene. Typiske symptomer er sår i barken og døde skudd.

Sammendrag

Askeskuddsjuke, som forårsakes av en liten, innført begersopp, har i løpet av ca. 10 år spredt seg gjennom mesteparten av askas utbredelsesområde i Norge, fra Østlandet opp til Nordmøre. I 2016 var bare Trøndelag fortsatt fri for sjukdommen. Etter sju år med overvåking av askeskuddsjuke ser vi at skadeutviklingen på enkelttrær og i bestand skjer fort, også i områder hvor sjukdommen bare har vært til stede i noen få år. Skadeomfanget øker fra år til år, trær i alle aldersklasser angripes og dødeligheten er høy, særlig blant de yngste trærne. Fortsatt holder likevel noen trær seg friske, noe som kan gi håp om at det finnes motstandsdyktige individer som vil overleve epidemien. Som genressursbevaringstiltak har vi samlet inn frø fra de friske trærne i overvåkingsflatene, samt fra Hindrum i Nord-Trøndelag, et av Norges nordligste naturlige askebestand.

Sammendrag

Askeskuddsjuke har spredd seg med rekordfart i Europa og i Norge. Ask (Fraxinus excelsior) er meget sensitiv for denne nye sjukdommen. De aller fleste områder i Europa med dette treslaget er nå infisert med sekksporesoppen askeskuddbeger (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) som forårsaker sjukdommen. I Norge ble askeskuddsjuke første gang registrert i 2008 og allerede da ble den funnet over store deler av Østlandet og Sørlandet. Deretter har askeskuddsjuke spredd seg nordover på Vestlandet i gjennomsnitt 51 km per år. I 2016 ble det nordligste funnet registrert i Aure kommune nær grensa til Trøndelag.

Sammendrag

De norske askeskogene er en nordlig utløper av større askeskoger i Europa som spredte seg nordover etter siste istid. Vi har undersøkt genetisk variasjon i ask (Fraxinus excelsior) og funnet at asken i Norge fulgte en østlig innvandringsvei fra overvintringsområder i SørøstEuropa. Mens den genetiske variasjonen i stor grad ble opprettholdt gjennom Europa, gikk svært mye av den genetiske variasjonen tapt nordover langs kysten av Norge, hvor vi også finner de største genetiske forskjellene mellom askepopulasjonene. Kunnskap om askens genetiske variasjon er verdifull for forvaltningen med tanke på framtidig restaurering og bevaring av genetiske ressurser nå som asken er truet av askeskuddsjuke.

Sammendrag

In Norway the common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) has its northernmost distribution in Europe. It grows along the coastal range as small fragmented populations. The first occurrence of ash dieback caused by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus in Norway was reported in 2008. At that time, the disease had already spread through large areas of southern and south-eastern parts of Norway. Since then the disease continued spreading with a speed of about 50- 60 km per year along the western coastal range. To monitor the disease development over time, we established eight permanent monitoring plots in south-eastern and western Norway in 2009 and 2012, respectively. In all plots tree mortality was high, especially among the youngest trees in south-eastern Norway. The extent of crown damage has continually increased in all diameter classes for both regions. In 2009, 76.8 % of all trees on the five monitoring plots in south-eastern Norway were considered to be healthy or slightly damaged, and only 8.9 % to be severely damaged. In 2015, 51.7 % were dead, 13.5 % severely damaged and only 25.7 % remained healthy or slightly damaged. To assess the infection pressure and spore dispersal patterns of the pathogen, we used a Burkard volumetric spore sampler placed in an infested ash stand in southern Norway. We examined the airborne ascospores of H. fraxineus and H. albidus captured on the sampling tape microscopically and with real-time PCR assays specific to these fungi. We detected very few ascospores of H. albidus, whereas ascospores of H. fraxineus dominated throughout entire sampling periods of 2009, 2010 and 2011. Spore discharge occurred mainly between the hours of 5 and 8 a.m., though the distinctive sporulation had yearly variation between 5-7 a.m. We observed the same diurnal pattern throughout the entire sampling period, with a seasonal peak in spore liberation between mid-July and midAugust, after which the number of ascospores decreased substantially. Similar diurnal patterns were observed throughout the sampling period except that after mid-August the number of trapped ascospores substantially decreased. To compare the genetic pattern of common ash in the northern and central ranges of Europe we analyzed the Norwegian samples together with available samples from central Europe by using chloroplast and nuclear microsatellite markers. We found that the northern range of common ash was colonized via a single migration route that originated in eastern or south-eastern Europe with little influence originating from other southern or western European refugia. In the northern range margins, genetic diversity decreased and population differentiation increased, coherent with a post-glacial colonization history characterized by founder events and population fluctuations. Based on our findings we discuss the future management and conservational implications.

Sammendrag

Ash dieback, caused by the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, has been spreading throughout Europe since the early 1990s, threatening European ash at a continental scale. Little is known about the development of the disease in individual forest trees and in different age classes. In this study we monitored ash dieback on trees of different diameter classes in five permanent plots in ash stands in south-eastern Norway from 2009 to 2016, and from 2012 to 2016 in three plots in western Norway with a shorter disease history. Our results showed that more than 80% of the youngest and more than 40% of the intermediate future crop trees in the plots in south-eastern Norway were dead by 2016, while the disease development in large, dominant trees was slower. Although less damage has been observed in the plots in western Norway, the trend for the juvenile trees is the same as in south-eastern Norway with rapidly increasing damage and mortality. Most dead trees in south-eastern Norway were found at sites with high soil moisture and showed symptoms of root-rot caused by Armillaria species. Infected trees, both young and old ones, are weakened by the disease and appear to be more susceptible to other, secondary pathogens, especially under unfavourable site conditions.

Sammendrag

Ash dieback, caused by the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, was first observed in the eastern and southernmost Norway in 2008. Based on the age of stem bark lesions, it was concluded that the fungus had arrived to the region no later than 2006. Since 2008 the annual spread of the disease northwards along the west coast of Norway has been monitored. The registration was done each year during early summer around a disease frontier recorded in the previous year. The occurrence of necrotic bark lesions in the previous-year shoots and dieback of these shoots, and isolation of H. fraxineus from the discoloured wood associated with necrotic bark lesions were used as signs of ash dieback. These records indicate an annual spread of ash dieback in the range between 25 km and 78 km, and a mean annual spread of 51 km. The cause of the spread is discussed.

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Sammendrag

Dieback of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), a disease caused by the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (previously referred to as H. pseudoalbidus or Chalara fraxinea), was first observed in Poland in the early 1990ies, and is currently present almost throughout the entire distribution area of European ash. The characteristic symptoms of the disease include dead shoots with necrotic lesions in the bark and discoloration of xylem and pith but the seasonal dynamics of pathogen spread in shoot tissues remain poorly understood. To investigate whether the internal spread of the fungus involves season-specific patterns, saplings with necrotic bark lesions in 1-2 -year-old stem regions were collected during 2014-2015 at time intervals in spring, summer, autumn and winter at several localities in western Ukraine and at two localities in south-eastern Norway. Tissuespecific presence of H. fraxineus was determined by a highly sensitive quantitative real-time PCR assay that is specific to DNA of H. fraxineus. The relatively high proportion of bark samples positive for H. fraxineus in the saplings collected during spring provides support to a model that H. fraxineus can be a primary causative agent of bark lesions and that other fungi may eventually replace it in old infection areas.

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Sammendrag

Ten saplings of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) naturally infected by the invasive ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus were collected in Ukraine and Norway and examined for bark necrosis and extension of discoloration in sapwood and pith in a stem region. Tissue-specific colonization profiles were determined by spatial analyses of symptomatic and visually healthy stem tissues using a H. fraxineus-specific qPCR assay and light microscopy. Our data suggest that hyphal growth in the starch-rich perimedullary pith is of particular importance for both axial and radial spread of H. fraxineus, but that most of its biomass accumulates in sapwood parenchyma. The study confirms the results from earlier work and presents new information that refines the current stem invasion model.

Sammendrag

Shoot dieback disease of European ash caused by the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus threatens ash on a continental scale. A spore sampler placed in a diseased ash forest in Southern Norway, coupled with microscopy and DNA-based fungal species-specific real-time PCR assays, was employed to profile diurnal and within-season variation in infection pressure by ascospores of H. pseudoalbidus and the potentially co-existing non-pathogenic Hymenoscyphusalbidus. Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus was found to be predominant in the stand. Massive simultaneous liberation, by active discharge of pathogen ascospores in the morning, peaked in mid-Jul. to mid-Aug. Accumulation of pathogen DNA on leaflets of current-year leaves reached a high level plateau phase before appearance of autumn coloration, suggesting that pathogen establishment in leaves is terminated before the onset of leaf senescence.

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Sammendrag

A large database of invasive forest pathogens (IFPs) was developed to investigate the patterns and determinants of invasion in Europe. Detailed taxonomic and biological information on the invasive species was combined with country-specific data on land use, climate, and the time since invasion to identify the determinants of invasiveness, and to differentiate the class of environments which share territorial and climate features associated with a susceptibility to invasion. IFPs increased exponentially in the last four decades. Until 1919, IFPs already present moved across Europe. Then, new IFPs were introduced mainly from North America, and recently from Asia. Hybrid pathogens also appeared. Countries with a wider range of environments, higher human impact or international trade hosted more IFPs. Rainfall influenced the diffusion rates. Environmental conditions of the new and original ranges and systematic and ecological attributes affected invasiveness. Further spread of established IFPs is expected in countries that have experienced commercial isolation in the recent past. Densely populated countries with high environmental diversity may be the weakest links in attempts to prevent new arrivals. Tight coordination of actions against new arrivals is needed. Eradication seems impossible, and prevention seems the only reliable measure, although this will be difficult in the face of global mobility.

Sammendrag

Dieback of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), caused by the ascomycete Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus (anamorph Chalara fraxinea), started around 1992 in Poland and has since then spread over large geographical areas. By November 2010, the disease had been recorded in 22 European countries. The gradual expansion and high intensity of the ash dieback epidemic in Europe may suggest that H. pseudoalbidus is an invasive alien organism. In Norway, ash dieback was first reported in spring 2008, and a survey in early summer of the same year revealed that the disease had spread over large parts of the southern and eastern regions of the country. The distance from the southernmost to the northernmost infected stands was, at that time, about 400 km. Some old necrotic lesions were also observed, indicating that the ash dieback pathogen is likely to have been present in Norway since at least 2006. In 2009, a spore sampler was installed in a diseased ash stand at Ås, South-Eastern Norway. Sampling started in late July and continued until late September. Large numbers of ascospores resembling those of H. pseudoalbidus were observed, with the maximum number of spores occurring from the end of July to mid-August. The deposition of ascospores occurred mainly between 6 and 8 a.m. Ascospores are most likely to be the primary source initiating host infections and responsible for the rapid recent spread of H. pseudoalbidus in Europe.

Sammendrag

The causative agent of dieback on European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) was first described as Chalara fraxinea based on cultural morphology because no sexual stage of the fungus was known. Later, based on culturing of ascospores of a candidate teleomorph, morphological comparison and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequencing, the sexual stage of C. fraxinea was assigned as Hymenoscyphus albidus, a native and widespread species in Europe. Recently, the morphological species concept of H. albidus was shown to cover two species that cannot be separated from each other based on teleomorph characters, but which can be distinguished by several DNA markers. As a result, the strains causing ash dieback were reassigned as H. pseudoalbidus. The closely related H. albidus is presumably a non-pathogenic endophyte, but pathogenicity tests to confirm this hypothesis have not yet been performed. Genotyping of herbarium specimens has shown that H. pseudoalbidus was present in Switzerland for at least a decade prior to the epidemic outbreak in Europe. The origin of the ash dieback pathogen, and the general importance of correct pathogen identification to development of effective disease control, are discussed.