Ash to Ashes?

It looks as if it might be curtains for yet another UK tree species with the discovery of the ash die-back fungus Chalara fraxinea in a Woodland Trust area in East Anglia (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/24/ash-dieback-disease-east-anglia?INTCMP=SRCH). The Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is a common stand alone tree and can be a major component of hedgerows. The fungus can easily spread tens of kilometres as spores on the wind. Although the fungus has been recorded in the UK previously, it has, thus far, been limited to garden centres and imported trees (now banned) and its eradication has been relatively easy. Now it's into wild populations, the spread of the disease will be almost impossible to contain. A substantial proportion of the Ash in Danish forests has already disappeared.