Hedgerows Unveiled: Nature's Multifaceted Allies in the UK Landscape
Hedgerows are the most widespread semi-natural habitat in the UK and are critical to the existence of numerous plants and animals. Yet hedgerows are in decline, and their value is misunderstood.
Hedgerows have numerous benefits, including providing homes and conduits for many insects and creatures, controlling waters and floods, and holding valuable soil. They also contribute to farm biodiversity, whether crop or arable.
Let's peel back the curtains on these resources. Hedgerows have revealed their value to Protect Earth, and we now evangelise their contribution to biodiversity across landscapes.
Introduction to Hedgerows
A hedge is akin to a wall that is grown. They are grown of bushes and sometimes trees that are grown close together. For example, a good density for a hedgerow is to plant 4 plants per metre. When planting a woodland, a good density is to plant trees between 2 and 3 metres apart.
There are two main types of hedges: managed and those called "relict," meaning the hedges are no longer being managed, and the trees have grown into a more recognisable tree-type shape.
For only £4.00, you can buy a meter of hedgerow
A hedgerow is an all-inclusive bundle that includes banks, trees, walls, fences, and gates. It's like a whole little ecosystem in one line—just one of the reasons they offer so much.
Hedges have been used for centuries as a means of marking property boundaries. There are hedges in the UK that date back centuries - no mean feat of dedication, given they require at least annual maintenance. Many a hedge sprang up during George III's reign after he passed the Enclosure Act 1773, which is still in effect today. But, close to half of the UK's hedges were planted before the creation of this act - many are hundreds, some even thousands, of years old. Specific hedges are legally safeguarded in England and Wales if they meet designated criteria.
UK Hedgerow Statistics
Play a vital role in restoring these essential green corridors. Your contribution will help plant, protect, and nurture hedgerows, supporting biodiversity and the environment for future generations.
There are 500,000 miles of hedgerows in the UK.
About 2.5% of England's land is covered by hedgerows and field trees.
Around 40% of UK hedges are ancient, generally planted before the Enclosure Act 1773.
66% of England has had hedgerows for over a thousand years.
The UK lost 50% of its hedgerows in the last 75 years mainly because of increasingly intensive farming.
The Role of Hedgerows
As barriers standing tall around fields, hedges bolster an ecosystem's vitality, safeguarding crops against wind damage.
Hedges serve as natural shelterbelts for livestock, shielding them from harsh weather conditions and offering a haven for foraging. They also provide sanctuary to insects and small animals, boosting biodiversity. Additionally, sanctuary seekers return the favour by helping spread pollen as they feed, while other hedge inhabitants feed off of crop-destroying pests.
In addition to their agricultural advantages, hedges play a pivotal role in water and flood control by mitigating runoff and stabilising soil, thereby reducing the risk of erosion and flooding.
Hedgerow's environmental benefits extend further, contributing to carbon sequestration, enhancing air quality, and fostering habitat connectivity for wildlife.
In short, hedgerows offer crop protection and pollination, livestock barriers and shelters, a wildlife haven, a source of income, or a landscape feature. Keeping hedges healthy maximises all these benefits and ensures they thrive.
Harnessing the Power of Hedges: Nature's Allies in Crop Protection, Sustainability, and Yield Enhancement
Hedgerows can protect crops from strong and cold winds. They stop the wind from pushing crops over and help keep colder winds away, which would cause flowers and fruits to drop early. This natural protection can increase crop productivity while making it easier to harvest.
Hedgerows help more bugs and birds that eat crop-harming pests to live near farms. Having hedgerows around farms can help control pests without needing chemicals.
Hedgerows are important because they help different kinds of pollinators, like bees and butterflies, which are a natural component for ensuring crops grow well. Hedgerows help by providing food year-round (extremely important when crops aren't blooming) and places for them to make their homes.
Hedgerows help stop soil from washing or blowing away by slowing down wind and water. Their roots hold the soil in place, which prevents erosion. Also, trees and shrubs in hedgerows grow deep roots. This brings nutrients to the soil's surface.
The shelter hedges provide makes the ground warmer, so crops can grow for longer.
Hedgerows around commercial enterprises, like farms and places growing natural food products, optimise growing conditions by improving soil health, extending growing seasons, and reducing pests. These actions either reduce outgoings or increase yields.
Enhancing Livestock Welfare Through Hedgerow Integration
Hedges act as natural shelters for livestock, protecting animals from harsh weather like wind and cold. When animals have shelter, they're healthier and need less food to survive because they are not using as much energy trying to stay warm. Lambs especially benefit from shelter, increasing their chances of staying alive by keeping them warm and safe from hypothermia.
In the summer, hedges provide relief from heat stress for dairy cows. Being cooler and not suffering from heat stress increases milk yields, and the cows stay healthier. Not suffering from heat stress also keeps their fertility, growth, and ability to fight off diseases in good shape.
Feeding on plants from hedges can be beneficial for livestock. It boosts their gut health, strengthens their immune systems, and improves their ability to turn food into energy. Plus, thick hedges act as barriers, stopping diseases like bovine TB from spreading between animals on different farms.
Livestock can even heal themselves by munching on hedge plants. Some leaves have natural medicines that fight parasites, while others have rough textures that clean animals' insides or make them purge harmful entities from their bodies.
As outlined, hedgerows provide substantial benefits. In general, they provide homes and food, boosting biodiversity. They also improve soil health and enable plants to benefit from more nutrient-rich soil by keeping it in place.
In all ways, hedgerows and shelterbelts help livestock be more comfortable, which means they are more capable of turning higher profits for farms.
Hedgerows' Role in Water Management
Hedge roots soak up water, preventing water from running off and causing floods. They also stop soil from washing away into rivers, which can make flooding worse. Of course, there is a tipping point when soils with or without hedges become over-saturated. However, hedges slow down the flow of water, giving us more time to prepare for floods and protect our land.
The Environmental Impact of Hedgerows
Hedgerows are like nature's carbon vaults, locking carbon away in the soil and the plants above the ground. Sequestration helps to tackle climate change by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Plus, they're like air purifiers, capturing pollution particles and making the air we breathe cleaner and fresher.
Hedgerows also work as shields, stopping soil erosion and letting rainwater seep into the ground. This recharges our water sources - a bonus during summer droughts.
Where chemicals are used on farms, hedgerows can bear the brunt when rainwater carries chemical-drenched soils. Hedges help prevent chemicals from entering into waterways. By doing so, they keep our water clean and healthy for aquatic life.
As the UK's largest wildlife habitat, hedgerows are crucial in halting biodiversity decline and tackling climate change. They facilitate movement through the landscape for a wide range of organisms and are particularly important for flying insects like butterflies, which need warm, sheltered conditions to gain and retain the heat necessary to fly.
130 priority Biodiversity Action Plan species are closely associated with hedgerows, 11% of all such species. Although very few are wholly dependent on hedgerows, the loss of hedgerows or a decline in their quality will significantly impact their populations.
The health of the environment can also impact our ability to continue living comfortably and securely (around food production, potable water, and flood prevention).
So, planting and maintaining hedgerows isn't just good for the environment—it's a win-win for everyone!
Other Benefits Provided by Hedgerows
Hedges are of cultural importance in the UK. Etched into our minds, they are associated with serene settings—marking a churchyard or hugging the roadside of a twisty single-lane country road. These days, we don't look to hedges as a viable building material or resource as before when we would use hedging as firewood or to make woven products. Nevertheless, seeing a hedgerow symbolises peace and countryside for many, bringing up ideas of a long-forgotten time when hedges were used daily.
Selecting the Right Species: Choosing Plants for Your Hedgerow
Hedges can be of different shapes and sizes depending on why they were planted and consist of various plants. In countryside areas, hedges usually have a mix of small bushes and trees like hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, ash, and oak (many of these features in the hedges and shelterbelts that Protect Earth has created alongside Beech, Holly, Field Maple, Buckthorn, and Rowan).
Good hedges have many types of plants that bloom and produce fruit at different times of the year, helping animals.
Planting density is much tighter than when planting trees that will be allowed to grow to full height. The typical hedgerow density is 4 plants per metre. How thick a hedgerow is planted depends on why it's being planted; however, it requires maintenance…
Hedgerow Maintenance
All hedges must be taken care of regularly to stay healthy, but there's room to adjust the schedule. How hedges are taken care of depends on their purpose. How much you trim your hedge depends on the appearance you want. Trimming should not be done from March to August because birds are nesting. Lastly, don't clean up too much – let leaves and seeds stay to attract hedgehogs, birds, small animals, and insects.
To sum up
Hedgerows and shelterbelts substantially benefit animals, the environment, and those generating farm incomes. Their contributions are why Protect Earth widely encourages the development of hedgerows - in places where only a hedge would fit or along woodlands or wildflower meadows.
If you would like to explore the benefits of hedges to your land or project, we are most happy to help in any way we can. So please, get in touch now!
