Hedgerows are in great decline in the UK with more than 150,000 miles being lost in the last 60 years. Part of the reason for this is because they are often seriously undervalued. It is easy to pass off a hedgerow as simply a living barrier used purely as a means of segregation
By Richard Studdard Ecologist, STRI
NATURE’SCorridors
THE considerable ecological value of a hedgerow should not be underestimated. Depending on its age, a hedgerow can be made up of a considerable number of tree and shrub species and provide a habitat to support a variety of plants and animals. Species commonly associated with hedgerows include a variety of bat species, dormice and other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians such as the Great Crested Newt, insects and a variety of fungi, plants, lichens and mosses.
What’s the story?
The history of the hedgerow goes back a long way. Hedgerows have been part of the English landscape since the Bronze Age and many are in excess of 500 years old. The majority were planted in the 18th and 19th centuries, with 200,000 miles of hedgerow set out between 1750 and 1850. Many were planted to mark Parish boundaries and other important land segregations. We are all familiar with what a
hedgerow looks like - a narrow strip of 64
vegetation comprising a variety of shrubs and certain trees that divide up areas of land. We’ve all seen them at one time or another but, at the rate at which they have been declining over the last few decades, they are becoming an increasingly rare sight and one that future generations may find hard to find or, indeed, may miss out on altogether. Hedgerow loss has occurred for a variety of reasons. Some have been removed to open up areas of land due to changes in land use; some lost due to urban spread and many simply replaced with walls or fences to reduce maintenance.
Hedgerows and golf
The presence of a hedgerow on the golf course is a relatively rare sight. However, in a golf course situation they can be an attractive, interesting and practical feature as well being of great ecological benefit. Hedgerows create substantial barriers. Once established, they create a dense belt of woody vegetation that is very difficult to penetrate and therefore they are extremely useful as security
features in areas of the golf course that may be vulnerable to trespassers. Their size and density also offer very effective screening from both the visual and acoustic impacts of roads and other factors that may distract the golfer.
Hedgerow ecology
The situations of hedgerows can vary greatly. They often simply divide up two identical areas of land; they may form a border around an area of land protecting livestock from a ditch at the other side or they may form a barrier between agricultural land and roadways. Hedgerows can be found in many
different localities and, because of this, the species composition can vary greatly. Different species thrive in different situations. Factors such as aspect, soil type, nutrient availability, water availability, environmental conditions and pollution all influence what can survive and where. To put into perspective their value as a wildlife habitat, hedgerows occupy more land area than all UK nature reserves put
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