Swathes of larch trees will be removed from Dumfries and Galloway over the next 10 years.
Forestry and Land Scotland are pulling out all the stops in a bid to halt the spread of the larch killing disease phytophthora ramorum.
And that includes removing all larch from the land it manages in south west Scotland by the end of 2032.
FLS director of land management and regions, Graeme Prest, said: “Like all other land managers in Scotland, we have been playing our part in working to control this disease.
“With no known cure and eradication of the disease considered to be unachievable, the only available counter measure is to slow the pathogen’s spread by felling.
“Previously, we have been waiting until the disease arrives at a location and then have responded to the statutory plant health notice that requires us to fell infected and ‘at-risk’ trees in the vicinity by a set date.
“But a reactive approach puts a fairly hefty spanner in the works of our normal work programmes. We have to stop planned harvesting works, move people and machinery, deal with the diseased crop and also re-plan the work that we would normally have been doing. It’s a significant challenge for how we manage our resources to best effect for the business.
“This new approach allows us to get more on the front foot and build disease management in to our annual felling programmes, making the effort to tackle the disease more cost efficient, manageable and sustainable.
“It is all part of the process of adapting the forests to be more resilient for the increasing threats from pests and diseases and climate change.”
