Healthy Hedgerows A lifeline for wildlife People’s Trust for Endangered Species
Nothing wakes you up better than an early November morning. Braving the chilled air and first orange rays of dawn rewards you with serene landscapes of low-lying mist and frosty fields. Hedgerow berries add a touch of vibrant colour.
F
rom hedgehogs to bats, much of the UK’s wildlife at this time of year is deep in hibernation or fast preparing for it. Yet, the colder months also offer the perfect opportunity to spot winter visitors gracing the hedgerow network, like fieldfares and redwings. While wildlife activity may be quieter over winter, hedgerow management season is in full swing. Hedge-laying competitions are commonplace. Along with coppicing, this ancient hedgerow rejuvenation technique has been passed down the generations for centuries. The description sounds simple: hedge-laying involves cutting the main woody stems of the hedge almost all the way through at the base and laying them over but, this is actually a very skilful technique and 164
consists of many regional styles. The cut in each woody stem encourages new growth from the very base of the hedge, in turn providing valuable shelter for wildlife. As well as shelter, hedgerows offer wildlife nesting and hibernating opportunities, food and navigational routes. Bats roost in hedge trees. Hedgehogs feed on invertebrates in the hedge margin. Hazel dormice scurry along hedgerow corridors. The list could go on. The overarching value of hedgerows lies in the fact that they represent an ecotone (an area of transitional vegetation between two different habitats), consisting of overlapping woodland, scrub and grassland habitat. Many species typical of each of these habitat types can live in the hedgerow network. This includes 80% of woodland birds. Other wildlife rely on resources from more than one of these habitats. The noble chafer beetle is a good example. Feeding on deadwood at the centre of old hedgerow trees (the woodland component) as larvae, noble chafers feed from hawthorn, elder and hogweed (scrub and pasture plants) as adults.
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
Together, these three layers imitate the rich habitat mosaic found at a woodland’s edge. Many species thrive in a woodland edge environment. This harks back to a time when it is theorised that large herbivores roamed the landscape. The grazing and browsing of these herbivores as they moved around kept vegetation in a continuous cycle of different stages of growth. Forest with dense canopy would have been present, as would woodland glades and areas of scrub, or grassland interspersed with trees. This cycle of successional growth underpins good modern day broadleaf hedgerow management practice. Hedgerow management should change over time according to the position of a hedge within its natural lifecycle. Established hedges can also be cut higher and wider with each cut (approximately 10cm wider than the previous trim line). This should preferably be on rotation every three years to maximise fruit and flower abundance. When vegetation density starts to grow thin at the base, the hedge will need coppicing or laying to thicken the vegetation back up and reset the cycle of succession. www.lancmag.com
