Elm Map

For Elm Map a mature elm is defined as one that is too big to hug (or which has a circumference at chest height measuring more than 1.5m). Each of these mature trees is an ecosystem in its own right, often supporting a wide variety of insects, mosses and lichens.

An Elm Map leaflet (see Downloads) provides information on: the identification of elm trees; the impact of Dutch elm disease on the British elm population and the wider countryside; the importance of these trees as habitats for numerous invertebrates, lichens, mosses and fungi and information on how to get involved in the project.

How to get involved

If you know of, or have found, a mature elm tree please contribute information to the survey by entering records online at The Ancient Tree Hunt website.

For leaflets and further information contact Elm Map at The Woodland Trust:

Email The Woodland Trust
Tel 01476 581135
Post Elm Map, The Woodland Trust, Autumn Park, Dysart Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6LL.

What will the information be used for?

The project is a collaboration between organisations representing ramblers, scientists, conservationists and amateur naturalists, aiming to raise awareness about the importance of elm trees in maintaining fragile British ecosystems. Hundreds of mature elm records have been submitted and will be credited within an Elm Gazetteer and located on the national Ancient Tree Hunt map.

The records are an important resource for a diverse range of projects and will be used to support surveys of the many different species that favour elm tree habitats, for example:

• The Natural History Museum is using the information to locate elm trees that support rare species of butterflies, moths, mosses, fungi and lichens.

• Plantlife, the British Lichen Society (BLS), English Nature and The Natural History Museum have produced a leaflet 'Lichens and elms'. For a free copy visit Plantlife.

• The Conservation Foundation, in a project funded by the Tubney Charitable Trust, has visited mature elms recorded on the Elm Map database and collected cuttings. The cuttings from these trees, which appear to be naturally disease resistant, are being grown in a nursery for replanting.

• The British Lichen Society and The British Bryological Society (BBS) plan to survey the lichens and mosses growing on some of the mature elms as part of their regional fieldwork.