From the introduction:
"A large number of diseases and disorders can affect forest trees in Britain. Confidence in identifying particular causes from this range of potential problems requires a combination of knowledge and experience that is not easily acquired without becoming a specialist in the field. Nevertheless, we hope that part I of this handbook will provide some useful guidelines by which managers and owners can investigate health problems in their trees. Straightforward field observations of the kind covered here can often allow crucial distinctions to be made between broad categories of‘ disease; they can also provide solutions on which practical decisions can be based.
Part II of the handbook is a key to the most common problems of plantation trees and in part III important features of some of the diseases and disorders covered in part II are summarized. Full details of these can be found in Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees by D.H. Phillips and D.A. Burdekin (Macmillan; 2nd ed; 1992), which also provides descriptions of the problems that are noted in the key but not treated in part III.
The key and descriptions include some common diseases of trees that are not normally regarded as major crop trees but which are frequently grown in commercial woodlands. However, street and garden trees are not dealt with specifically. Although these may suffer from some of the same diseases and disorders as plantation trees, symptom expression and pattern are often different, reflecting the different situations in which they are grown. For a comprehensive treatment of the problems of ornamental and amenity trees, we refer readers to Diagnosis of Ill-health in Trees by R.G. Strouts and T.G.Winter."