Conservation & Ecology Hedgerows and the law
Bountiful barriers
Hedgerows are one of the outstanding features of Britain’s landscape. Peter Britton looks at their history and the laws that protect them
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riss-crossing the countryside, hedgerows - long rows of bushes, often with trees growing amongst them - can be seen dividing up the UK landscape and
providing definition and boundaries on many a golf course. They may be planted, or they may be the remnants of ancient wooded areas, but they are mainly used as barriers to prevent livestock from escaping from fields, to form boundaries between parishes, or to make it rather difficult for a golfer a) to find their ball and b) to play out of them when they do! Many older hedgerows are a window into
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the past. They can range in date from mediaeval boundaries to the results of the 19th century Enclosures Act when many of the open fields and commons were divided up into smaller pockets. These older hedgerows support an amazing diversity of plants and animals and often have archaeological important old banks and ditches associated with them. It is estimated that two thirds of England has been continuously hedged for over a thousand years.
In the UK, there are currently around 280,000 miles of hedgerow. Of this, about 118,000 are thought to be ancient or
species-rich. These hedges are mainly found in southern England and southern Wales, and are much scarcer in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, over half the hedgerows are deemed as species-poor. Species-rich hedgerows: The UK Habitat Action Plan for species-rich hedgerows defines them as hedges “which contain five or more native woody species in a 30m length”. Hedges that contain less than five woody species (trees and shrubs) in each 30m, but have a rich variety of herbaceous plants at their base, are also included. Hedges which consist mainly of privet, yew or non-native trees (including beech and
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