Conservation & Ecology


sycamore) are excluded. They are often a mix of shrub and tree


species such as hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, ash and oak, interwoven with climbers like old man’s beard, ivy and honeysuckle. Banks and ditches fill with flowers like hedge bedstraw and red campion, whilst butterflies such as the rare black and brown hairstreaks, purple emperor and pearl-bordered fritillary, use them for nectar or to lay their eggs. With nectar-rich blossom in the spring,


insects buzzing in the dense thickets in summer and red berries abundant in autumn, hedgerows provide wildlife with a rich larder. In fact, they are so good for


wildlife that 130 UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species are associated with them. Mammals, like the European-protected


hazel dormouse, bank vole, harvest mouse and hedgehog, nest and feed in hedgerows, and bats, such as the greater horseshoe and Natterer’s bats, use them as green ‘commuter routes’ for foraging and roosting. Woodland and farmland birds such as blue tit, great tit, yellowhammer and whitethroat can be found along the hedges. Hedgerows can also prevent soil erosion,


capture pollutants such as fertilisers and pesticides running off fields, store carbon to help combat climate change, and provide


homes for predators of many pest species. They also provide vital corridors across the countryside for wildlife, helping it to move about freely and keeping populations healthy. There are a number of reasons why


hedgerows are under threat. Lack of time and labour, as well as an increase in costs are the primary reasons for landowners not implementing good management of hedgerows. Increased stocking rates by farmers,


particularly of sheep, can lead to hedgerow damage and the need to fence fields. Neglect (for example, not cutting a hedge)


PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 I 119


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