THE battle has begun in Lancashire to save one of the country's rarest trees.
Conservation experts from Lancashire County Council are taking action to save the black poplar.
The County Council intends to plant black poplars along the River Lune in autumn. The authority is also aiming to set up a Lancashire Black Poplar Project to grow a supply of trees for landowners, community groups and schools to plant in their own grounds.
Experts estimate there are only 200 of the scarce trees in the county and their dwindling numbers have been exacerbated by the loss of its natural habitat.
Peter Jepson, Lancashire County Council's Ecology Officer, explained: "The trees traditionally grew on lowland river flood plains on banks of sand and gravel thrown up during floods. Modern river engineering and flood defences has effectively destroyed much of its natural habitat.
"If something is not done now the Black Poplar could be extinct in Lancashire in the next 100 years."
Most of the trees survive mainly in hedgerows and near rivers and ponds. It is thought that the tree was extensively planted after the First World War to provide a solution to the shortage of trees felled during the war.
May 29, 2003 15:00
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