Assessing the changing risk of tick-borne diseases within woodland creation projects

Summary: Tree planting and woodland creation projects which aim to benefit biodiversity, climate change mitigation and connecting people to nature are increasing in number across the UK. However, as well as many benefits, increased woodland cover may also result in certain undesirable impacts unless carefully managed. For example, woodland is among the most suitable habitat for the tick vector Ixodes ricinus, which transmits several pathogens significant for human and animal health. How tick-borne disease risk changes as woodland establishes and how this threat may be managed, particularly in areas with increasing human use and/or proximity to farmed livestock is a major open question which this research aims to answer. By selecting woodlands of different ages since woodland creation, which include fenced areas to exclude deer, this project will assess how tick-borne disease risk changes as woodlands establish and how managing deer by fencing affects this risk. The project will combine empirical fieldwork, quantitative modelling and engagement with local decision makers to understand how tick-borne disease risk changes with woodland establishment. It will also contribute to evidence on how best to manage deer within ecological restoration projects to maximise biodiversity and tree regeneration objectives whilst minimising risks of tick-borne disease.