RESEARCH has begun this summer to throw new light onto a little-understood condition in older oak trees – heart-rot.

Common in oak trees aged 200 years and over, heart-rot is almost universal by the time trees reach 400 years old, but how and why it occurs is a subject which has only just begun to be explored.

Now mycologist Richard Wright has started a three-and-a-half-year PhD research project under the Action Oak initiative, which is supported by European Social Funds (ESF), supervised by Professor Lynne Boddy at Cardiff University and supported by the Royal Forestry Society.

Richard said: “Despite its name, heart-rot can be highly beneficial for some tree species. For oaks it can help them adapt and reach great ages by releasing nutrients for continued growth and adjustments in the tree’s structure, but heart-rot is also at the centre of the richness of the forest ecology. Without it, many birds and mammals would not be able to find the holes and conditions to nest, and the complex fungal food chain that supports a huge diversity of insects that so many rely on as a food source would be cut short.

“We do know the common causal agents and their processes. We will be expanding on this knowledge and looking at the interactions, succession, and diversity of these decay communities, in particular the spatial relationships and territories of heart-rot fungi in 3D. To be involved in this sort of pioneering fungal ecology is an aspect of mycology that I find really exciting – looking into the hearts of trees and understanding the essential roles fungi play in forest ecosystems.”

Richard’s fieldwork will look at oak trees primarily aged 150 years and over in Wales, and he will be collaborating with a colleague carrying out similar research in England. He hopes to be taking samples this summer, before beginning analysis, DNA sequencing and developing a 3D model of heart rot progression within a trunk.

Supervisor, Cardiff Biosciences Professor Lynne Boddy, said: “We are delighted to be working with Richard Wright in this important research and to have the support of RFS members. We are hoping not only to understand the interactions that lead to heart-rot, but to understand its progression. Research into beech heart-rot a few years ago revealed fungal decay communities we would never have guessed looking at the fungal fruit bodies on the trunk, and it may well be that we will find a few surprises along the way.”

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