West Weald Landscape Project Conference: Hedgerows
1. Hedgerows in our Living
Landscape
Jim Jones
Living Landscape Officer
Surrey Wildlife Trust Seminar Thursday 22nd May 2014
2. What have hedgerows ever done for
us?
Ecosystem Services
Report to DEFRA 2009 Land Use Consultants/GHK Consulting Ltd
Provisioning
services
Regulating services Cultural services
Food
Fibre
Fuel
Air quality
Climate regulation (carbon
storgae)
Water regulation (NFM,
SUDS)
Erosion (soil) regulation
Water quality /
purification
Pest control
Pollination
Hazard reduction
Recreation (field sports)
Cultural heritage
Education
Aesthetics / inspiration
Sense of place
Supporting services
Soil formation
Photosynthesis
Primary production
ES Option groups Number of positive
services delivered
P R C S B Tot
Hedgerows and
ditches
(basic and
enhanced)
3 9 5 3 1 21
Woodlands 3 7 5 3 1 19
Orchards 2 7 4 3 1 17
Buffer strips 2 7 2 3 1 15
Low input
grassland
2 6 4 3 1 16
Species-rich
grassland
2 6 4 3 1 16
Rough grazing
(basic and
enahanced)
3 5 4 3 1 16
3. Anatomy of a hedgerow
Hedgerow tree
-whole tree
Plymouth pear
-rot holes
hoverfly
-singing and display
yellowhammer
-nesting holes
-feeding habitat
Shrubby
component
-breeding site
brown hairstreak
hazel pot beetle
-foraging habitat
bechstein’s bat
-nesting site
linnet, cirl bunting
-shelter/ predation
dispersal/
commuting
corridor
hazel dormice
Hedge Margin
-breeding
yellowhammer
grey partridge
song thrush
harvest mice
-foraging
scarlet malachite
beetle
Hedge Base
-foraging
stag beetle
-predator avoidance
hedgehog
-breeding reed
bunting, carder bee
-hibernation/ over-
wintering
great crested newt
hazel dormouse
sandy stilt puffballAll parts present in healthy hedgerow
Good management is the key
4. BAP species and hedgerows
• 125 priority UKBAP species linked to hedgerows
(Wolton 2009)
• Other species of conservation concern also linked to
hedgerows E.g. Small eggar moth, stoat
• Loss or decline of hedgerows impact on population
5. Hedgerows- The Landscape Scale
Features
connectivity
semi-natural habitat
Uses
dispersal routes
foraging
breeding
post-breeding
habitat- and climate-
change related
refuge for woodland
species
BAP species
•hazel dormouse
•hedgehog
•bats
•polecat
6. Hedgerow Loss & Stabilisation
• Drastic loss of hedgerows
since 1940s
– 1946-63 8000kms/year
(Pollard et al 1974).
–
• Stabilisation 1998+
Removal and neglect
=planting and restoration
(CS2000)
7. Current Status
• Length of hedgerow
remains stable
– 7% decline in managed
hedge
– 9% increase in lines of
trees
• Majority in poor
condition
– 22% hedges in good
condition in 2006
8. Hedgerow Condition
Attribute Detail Threshold Comment
Dimensions Height Min 1.0m Exclude bank
Width Min 1.5m Widest point of canopy
Cross-sectional area Min 3m2 Height times width
Integrity Gaps along length Max 10% Do not count gateways
No big gaps Min 5m Do not count gateways
Gap between canopy base and
ground
Max 0.5m Not applicable to lines of trees
Undisturbed ground Width of uncultivated ground
from centre line of hedge
Min 2m Conforms to cross-compliance
requirements in England.
Hedgerow sides next to
grassland automatically qualify.
Not applicable to sides next to
built features (including tracks,
etc).
Perennial herbaceous
vegetation
Width of such vegetation
between centre line of
hedge and disturbed ground
Min 1m The band of herbaceous vegetation
can be anywhere between
centre line and disturbed
ground. Hedgerow sides next
to grassland automatically
qualify. Not applicable to sides
next to built features
(including tracks, etc).
Non-native species Woody species cover Max 10% Archaeophytes (naturalised pre 1500)
and sycamore count as native.
Herbaceous species cover Max 10% Archaeophytes (naturalised pre-1500)
count as native.
Hedgerow Survey Handbook 2nd Edition
9. • Isolated hedge
trees fell by 3.9%
1997-2007
• Lack of
recruitment of
juvenile hedge
trees
Hedgerow
Trees
15. Soil to Plate: Grow Your Own
2/3 local schools have
allotments to grow their own
fruit & veg
Soil to Plate: Grow and mill
Children from 5 years upwards see
wheat being grown, harvested
product & milled into flour
Soil to Plate: pick & bake
Using the milled flour & other
veg grown on farm children
bake bread etc to complete
the journey
Habitat Management
A range of activities around the farm
Including coppicing, hedge-laying,
tree planting etc
Learning to care for the land
Wildlife experiences
Open to older children and adults the
opportunity to badger watch etc and
experience wildlife in a natural setting
Farm BioBlitz
Opportunities for children & adults
to become involved in species
recording and monitoring
e.g. dormice, birds etc
Wood Hub
Involvement in understanding
Sustainable woodland management
from the habitat mgmt, to storage
and use
Sharing skills
Training young people (16-25) in
countryside skills, equipping them to
Develop careers and
Addressing skills gaps in rural areas
Adult Education
A series of short courses and one off talks
in partnership with other local
organisations e.g. Haslemere Museum??
IT
Rural Broadband
iPads
Infrastructure
Transport
Tools & storage
S J Chimbwandira 15/03/13
Outdoor Learning
Provision of Forest Schools and
other LOTC opportunities
Imbhams Farm & Surrey WT:
A unique & innovative
partnership reconnecting
people with the countryside
16. Hedgerows and Natural Flood
Management
• Pontbren Group, mid-
Wales
– Reductions in peak flow
of 40%
• Trees on the Uck
(TRUCK), Sussex
• HedgeTreesPlease,
Somerset
17. Flood management
• Policy Option 6
• low to moderate flood
risk
– store water
– manage run-off
– increase areas of existing
wet woodlands
Arun & Western Streams
Catchment Flood
Management Plan 2009
18. Chalara fraxinea
• UK
– 1.6bn ash trees outside
woodlands
– 98,000km of ash-
dominated hedges in UK
• WWLP
– 23% of hedgerows
contained ash
– 32% of WWLP hedge trees
are ash
19. Future Work
• 50% of hedges in good
condition
• Land management
advice
• Targeted use of
hedgerows for NFM
• Assessing impact of C.
fraxinea on hedgerow
trees in WWLP Area
Editor's Notes
Most common Hawthorn >blackthorn >mixture of woody species including hazel.
Rarer types include ELM and BEECH hedgerows.
Regional variation in hedgerow character is a key component of their cultural value.
Northwards: Hawthorn-dominated
Southwards: Blackthorn
Devon -hedge sits on a high turf bank
South-West England- hazel hedgerows which are rich in woody species.
locally distinctive such as Staffordshire holly
70% of the hedgerow tree population are ash and oak SNER
diverse in composition a hedgerow is the more species it is likely to support due to a diversity of flowering and fruiting times.
native hedge plants (blackthorn hawthorn hazel dogwood field maple will support many more species than non-native plants such as garden privet, leylandii and sycamore but butterfly bush and pyracantha?
dead wood and plant litter within the structure of the hedge and can provide a valuable habitat for many invertebrates (which in turn will attract predators such as bats, shrews and birds) and cover for small mammals
Hedgerow trees
between 20 and 50 million hedgerow and field trees in England, covering very roughly 2.5% of the land area.
scarcity of young hedgerow trees to replace mature ones when they die is a major cause of concern number of isolated hedgerow trees fell by 3.9% between 1997 and 2000
Hedge bases --buffer zone to protect root systems and which can be an important habitat in its own right.
Management
hedge laying, where the layed stems die off as the new shoots grow provides a source of dead wood.
Coppicing, where stems are cut just above the ground, can provide a new lease of life to seriously damaged hedgerows.
timing of management is important to get the best from a hedge and avoid disturbance to animals breeding or over-wintering.
cutting cycle will determine the availability of fruits and flowers in a hedge; typically a cycle of two to three years is most beneficial for wildlife.
Brown hairstreak pale shining brown moth polia bombycina banded golden hoverfly callicera spinolae
Hedgerows most widespread semi-natural habitat
Dispersal-Foraging., Predator Avoidance, Breeding
Juvenile Dispersal
Habitat and climate-change related dispersal
Managed hedgerows 624,000km-477,000km
Decline in managed hedge reflects lack of appropriate management [3].
22% in good condition excluding damage to basal flora by herbicides
<10% HEDGES IN arable IN Good condition
Lack of recruitment of juvenile trees
Integrity & continuity
<10% gaps ,none >5m, base of canopy ,0.5m above ground
Size
Height =>1m, width=>1m, xsection =>3m2
Recently introduced species
Max 10% for non native herbaceous and woody species
Nutrient enrichment
<20% cover of nettles,cleavers,dock
Undisturbed ground/perennial vegetation
Width of undisturbed ground =>2m
Width of perennial veg =>1m
Increasing mechanizationcultivation, chemical application, harvesting and hedgerow management to be undertaken extremely rapidly
Destroying much of the relict interest of ancient hedgerows
Larger field sizes
Fertilizer and pesticide usage
Decline in richenss of hedge bottoms
neglect of, and damage to, hedgerows have replaced direct loss as the most significant factors affecting
the habitat.
Lack of traditional hedgerow management such as coppicing or laying has led to hedges growing tall
or becoming gappy
Increased stocking rates
excessive flailing and cutting of hedges down to a metre or so in height,
and use of agricultural pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers right up to base of hedgerows has led to physical damage, loss of
species and nutrient enrichment