Crews working to remove diseased elms to protect campus canopy
Work will help to stop the spread of Dutch elm disease
The University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus is home to hundreds of beautiful, mature trees, but some of the elms are under threat of Dutch elm disease.
To protect the many, many healthy trees on the Fort Garry campus, City of Winnipeg Urban Forestry crews will be working to remove trees with Dutch elm disease this winter. These necessary removals will help prevent the spread of the devastating fungi, which easily infects non-resistant elm trees, ultimately killing them.
What is Dutch elm disease?
Caused by a type of sac fungi, Dutch elm disease is an affliction affecting primarily elm trees. In order to block the spread of the fungus within its limbs, a diseased tree will plug its own xylem tissue with gum and bladder-like extensions of the xylem cell wall called tylos
Since the xylem is what delivers water and nutrients to the rest of the tree, these plugs prevent them from travelling throughout the plant, starving and killing it.
Where are the diseased trees?
Most of the diseased elms are on the Point Lands, but there are a few on the main Fort Garry campus. If left untreated, Dutch elm disease would jeopardize the entire UM canopy.
The removal work will take place over the winter.
If you have any questions about the tree removals, please reach out to Operations and Maintenance at PPWOD@umanitoba.ca or by phone at 204-474-6281.