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

摘要：英国各地旨在造福生物多样性、缓解气候变化和将人与自然联系起来的植树和林地创造项目的数量正在增加。然而，增加林地覆盖率在带来许多好处的同时，也可能导致某些不良影响，除非加以认真管理。例如，林地是蓖麻硬蜱媒介最适合的栖息地之一，该媒介传播几种对人类和动物健康具有重要意义的病原体。随着林地的建立，壁虱传播的疾病风险如何变化，以及如何管理这一威胁，特别是在人类使用和/或接近养殖牲畜的地区，这是一个主要的悬而未决的问题，本研究旨在回答这一问题。通过选择自林地创建以来不同年龄的林地，其中包括不包括鹿的围栏区域，该项目将评估随着林地的建立，壁虱传播的疾病风险如何变化，以及通过围栏管理鹿如何影响这种风险。该项目将结合经验实地调查、定量建模和与当地决策者的接触，以了解壁虱传播的疾病风险如何随着林地建设的变化而变化。它还将有助于提供证据，说明如何在生态恢复项目中最好地管理鹿，以最大限度地实现生物多样性和树木再生的目标，同时将壁虱传播疾病的风险降至最低。

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.