'Living library' created to save rare native tree
A living gene bank of the rarest native tree in Britain, the black poplar, is being created in an urgent effort to create a breeding population.
The National Trust at Killerton in Devon is building on existing efforts across the UK to save the declining species which it says has effectively died out in the wild.
A total of 80 distinct clones of the species have been collected and planted at the site, making it the most genetically diverse population in the country.
The location of the 'living library' is along 3km (1.9 miles) of newly restored River Culm floodplain, which is the favoured habitat for the tree.
The library has been started with support from Forest Research and community groups who have located and collected a diverse selection of cuttings.
The National Trust said black poplar trees were once as common as oak and beech, but drainage of land and demand for faster growing non-native timber trees had contributed to their gradual decline.
Out of an estimated 7,000 black poplar trees left growing wild in Britain, only about 150 of those that have been tested are genetically unique.
The Trust said "urgent effort" is needed to form a breeding population of male and female trees to make the species resilient again.
Fi Hailstone, National Trust ecologist at Killerton said: "We want to establish a naturally reproducing population of black poplar on the stretch of river we have relinked to the floodplain.
"Black poplars need male and female trees within 200m of each other to pollinate each other. This is not something likely to happen in the wild which is why we are stepping in".
Ms Hailstone said the project will bolster the resilience of the species as once established, cuttings can be taken from the trees and spread to planting projects elsewhere.
Tom Shuttleworth, tree and woodland advisor for the National Trust said the black poplar is a tree with an important history.
"It features famously in John Constable's landscape The Hay Wain.
"It was a useful timber tree and used for cartwheels, brakes, and in mantle pieces."
Killerton is one of six nature super-sites identified by the National Trust for their potential to restore nature across whole landscapes through activities such as planting trees and restoring rivers.
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