Our landscapes could be transformed by approaching gap in hedgerow tree succession
It's time we improved management..
If you were to think of a quintessentially British countryside scene, chances are the image being played in your head is one of lush greenery, a myriad of interconnected hedgerows and fields, punctuated by large, mature hedgerow trees.
Our hedgerows and hedgerow trees play a hugely important role providing habitat, connectivity, and food for some of our most-loved wildlife; storing carbon; acting as shelter for livestock and crops; improving soil water holding capacities; and regulating crop pests.
But they are in trouble. Our hedgerows’ health is deteriorating and our hedgerow trees are dying out. That image of the countryside, our bustling hedges and majestic hedgerow trees, could become a distant memory.
In the UK, in order to better understand the state of our hedges, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology carry out Countryside Surveys. These are our main way of understanding the bigger picture of hedgerow characteristics across England, Scotland and Wales.
The 2007 Countryside Survey found that less than half (48%) of hedges were in good condition (well managed). It also revealed a 13.2% increase in lines of trees or relict hedges since 1998, suggesting some hedgerows are not being managed at all, and are becoming lines of trees.
The 1998 Countryside Survey considered hedgerow tree characteristics and identified a whopping 40% decrease in hedgerow trees between one and four years old, with a general 3% decrease in hedgerow tree numbers since 1990. In fact, less than 1% of hedgerow trees across the UK were found to be under five years old!
Most trees were found to be between 20 and 100 years old, indicating that our hedgerow trees are ageing. Across the country it is likely there aren’t enough young hedgerow trees to replace those dying from old age, disease or removal, delivering a notable visual and ecological impact on our rural landscapes.
The same survey also found that the most common species was Ash. Currently under attack from the fungus, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, commonly known as Ash dieback, this is a further worry for both the longevity of mature ash trees, and the succession of young ash trees in our hedgerows.
A challenge for us is understanding that hedgerow tree lifespans far exceed our own. It may be a few hundred years or more before some of our hedgerow trees die. This makes the problem difficult to gauge, and shows we need supporting data to act as our ecological canary.
I believe a Countryside Survey is needed as soon as possible, covering both hedgerow and hedgerow tree characteristics. We need up to date statistics on how things might have changed again since 2007 and 1998, so we can properly forecast and action plan.
But why are our hedgerows and hedgerow trees in trouble?
Put plainly, it is due to both under and over management of our hedgerows.
Without effective management, hedgerows eventually grow into lines of trees. While these are still valuable for storing carbon and as a habitat in their own right, we lose that dense understorey of continuous shrub cover which makes hedgerows (combined with hedgerow trees) so important as a connecting habitat, a wind break, or as a stock-proof barrier.
Over management is largely associated with annually cutting hedgerows back hard to the same height using mechanical hedge flails and saws. This eventually leads to gaps and thin hedgerows, as well as reducing flower and berry production for pollinators and birds, that form on second year growth in some species. Mechanised hedge trimming is thought to be one of the main drivers behind the decrease in our young hedgerow trees.
Before we delve into this further, it is important to make sure farmers and landowners aren’t vilified for managing hedgerows in a certain way. Instead, it would be far more productive to ensure better support is available to help improve hedgerow management. This would benefit farming businesses, as well as hedgerows and hedgerow trees under their management.
Understanding the social and political history of hedgerow management can help explain our current predicament. Traditionally, our rural areas had a much larger workforce, with hedgerow management practices, such as laying and coppicing, being carried out to create healthy, dense hedgerows and producing a suite of materials used for everything from basket making, to tree fodder for livestock, to wood fuel. These practices, being slower and more thorough, allowed for the better identification and protection of young hedgerow trees destined for maturity to provide services such as timber, shade provision and waymarking.
A move to mechanised hedge trimming from these more traditional practices made retention of young hedgerow trees more difficult. Young trees aren’t easy to identify within hedgerows without being up-close-and-personal with them as hedgelayers and coppice workers are.
Driven by a push for efficiency within our farming systems, fewer people working within agricultural jobs and the development of mechanised alternatives, it is small wonder land managers turned to mechanised cutting, being quicker, requiring less workforce, and, on the face of it, cheaper.
In some scenarios, cutting a hedgerow short is necessary to ensure lines of sight are maintained, such as along roads, or in urban parks, as well as in more ornamental hedges.
However, us Brits are obsessed with a highly managed landscape, with lawns and hedgerows trimmed and clipped to precision in both an urban and rural setting as a point of pride. Some farmers and land managers are the first to admit that they like to keep their hedgerows tidy for this reason.
Hedgerow trees, when operating a tractor-mounted mechanised cutter are also difficult to manoeuvre around and can damage agricultural equipment. This often damages the tree in the process and adds time and expense to the process of hedgerow management.
It was only with the introduction of the Hedgerows Regulation Act in 1997 that hedgerows secured some protection. Before then, landowners were incentivised to remove them for agricultural efficiency. Hedgerow trees are also not used as much as they once were as a source of timber or wood fuel, further undermining the conditions for a healthy hedgerow and hedgerow tree population.
But it’s not all doom and gloom
As George Eustice said when Secretary of State for the Environment, “Our hedgerows around the country are probably the single most important ecological building block left in this country.”
There are also moves towards including well managed hedgerows and hedgerow trees within our farming grant systems. Since January 5 this year, landowners have seen increases in the rural payments system for pursuing a range of good management practices, including hedgelaying, coppicing, gapping up, new hedgerow planting and hedgerow tree planting. Accompanying this has been a wave of hedgerow campaigns such as The Tree Council’s very own annual National Hedgerow Week and CPRE, The Countryside Charity’s 40 by 50 campaign.
We are very pleased to finally see the Government giving hedgerows and hedgerow trees a higher level of praise and attention within their new Environmental Improvement Plan, which contains new hedgerow targets (please see previous Tree Talk by Jess Allan). It looks like land managers could also be better supported for this following the reform of the Rural Payment Schemes.
In future articles, The Tree Council and our partners will further explore the world of hedgerows, their history, function, and current affairs as we work towards a healthy hedge network and a thriving hedgerow tree population.
The Tree Council’s National Hedgerow Week falls on May 8 - 14 2023. For all the latest on hedgerows, further information and lots of helpful hedgerow resources, please visit hedgelink.org.uk
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The mindset of "tidy" needs to change. Rotational hedge maintenance on a 2 or 3 yearly basis would be far healthier option for hedges. It would save costs that could be diverted for hedge laying or planting up gaps and planting hedge trees.
It will depend on the species. Location, weather and what the risks are from rabbits or deer. If you can see growth is being restricted, or the growth is growing into the plastic it's probably time to remove the guard carefully after 3 to 6 years, recycle as advised.