The first batch of timber from Japanese larch trees felled on the Welsh Assembly government’s woodland estate following the recent outbreak of Phytophthora ramorum disease will be sold on the open market on March 30.
The timber, to be sold by Forestry Commission Wales via its E-sales system, has not been damaged by its exposure to the disease and there is no risk of spreading the infection from wood that has been processed.
“We are dealing with infected timber as part of our annual harvesting and marketing programme, which is set at a level we can sustain in the longer term,” said Craig Sinclair, of Forestry Commission Wales’ harvesting and marketing team.
“We have therefore adjusted the overall volume of larch harvested in Wales and, where possible, we are delaying the felling of uninfected larch in order to minimise the increase in the quantity available.
“By taking this approach, we will be able to market the infected material within our annual timber production programme of 770,00m³.”
So far, Phytophthora ramorum has been confirmed in 906ha of Japanese larch trees in public and private woodlands in Wales, which equates to approximately one million infected trees.
