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.

From 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 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.

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.

To make understanding hedgerow management as simple as possible, People’s Trust for Endangered Species has developed the ‘Healthy Hedgerows’ survey app as part of a Green Recovery Challenge Fund project. The app can be used to position a hedgerow within the lifecycle, and after six quick questions it assess the overall health of the hedge and data entered into the app generates bespoke management advice for each user. Since the launch of the app in 2021, over 800 hedgerow surveys have been completed, helping to secure a healthy future for hundreds of hedges and the wildlife that rely on them.

Managing hedges according to their lifecycle also reconnects individuals with Britain’s heritage and maintains hedgerow health into the long-term, providing a lifeline for much of Britain’s wildlife. Much of the advice is relevant for countryside hedges and, where space allows, smaller-scale garden hedges too. With the right management choices, the valuable hedgerow tapestry that weaves together the British countryside can be preserved for generations to come.

Recently laid hazel hedge. Credit Megan Gimber.

Top tips for managing hedgerows: • Establish new hedge trees by tagging suitable young stems already present in the hedge network. Refrain from cutting these, so that they develop into the mature hedge trees of the future. • Cut hedges on rotation every 2-3 years. • Enhance the plant species diversity of a hedge. It is particularly valuable to include plants that flower and fruit at different times of year to provide a continuous food supply for wildlife. • Cut hedges higher and wider with each cut, approximately 10cm each time. • Cut as late in the winter as possible to leave berries and nuts available for wildlife in the colder months.

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