Woodland owners and managers are being invited to play a part in helping to monitor the health of Britain’s most iconic tree species.

Scientists from Aberystwyth University and Forest Research, in partnership with Sylva Foundation, are asking volunteers to get involved in a new research project aiming to monitor the health of oak trees across the country.

As one of the country’s most biodiverse trees, they support over 2,000 wildlife species.

However, native oak trees are fighting for survival against environmental change, disease, mildew, insect defoliation, honey fungus, and Acute Oak Decline.

A new disease defined within the last 20 years, Acute Oak Decline is increasingly affecting mature native oak trees across England and Wales.

It causes rapid decline, and in most cases the affected tree dies within as little as four to six years.

The research team from Forest Research and Aberystwyth University is seeking help from woodland owners and managers to help them to understand where and how these factors are impacting oak health.

Volunteers will be asked to assess five or more oak trees between June and August.

Dr Manfred Beckmann from the Department of Life Sciences at Aberystwyth University, said: “Through this research, we are calling on woodland owners and managers to help us to monitor the health of Britain’s much-loved oak trees, which are at risk from several different and varied threats, particularly Acute Oak Decline.

“Assessing each oak tree should take no more than five minutes, and the purpose-built app makes uploading assessments easy and straightforward.”

Aberystwyth University researcher Celyn Bassett added: “We want to capture the current health of oak trees so we can make comparisons between affected and symptom free woodlands.

“We hope to understand the differences in environment, the underlying health of the trees and importantly the role of management in improving the situation.”