Wildlife and Hedges
Click here to see a comprehensive review of .- ‘Good
practice for hedgerow management’.
Biodiversity Officer, North Somerset Council
Why survey hedges?
·
Hedges are important wildlife refuges and corridors. Those of
value for wildlife need to be identified to encourage biodiversity.
·
With climate change causing variations in wildlife populations, it
is important to have a ‘baseline’against which
these variations
can be measured.
·
Hedges make a significant contribution to the landscape character
of the English countryside.
·
Locations of veteran trees need to be established.
·
Historical hedges have archaeological value.
Many hedges were established during the
enclosure acts, 1750 - 1850.
The landowners appointed commissioners who sometimes
partitioned the land unfairly.
In England and Wales there were about -
800,000 km of hedges in 1947
600,000 km of hedges in 1984
400,000 km of hedges in 1993
Recording information on hedges
§
We must have permission from the landowner –
§
We have to work to a set of rules laid down by DEFRA.
§
We record as many of the species as we can identify.
§ We send a copy of the survey to the Bristol Regional
Environmental Records Centre and
to the landowner.
The Hedgerow Regulations were made under the Environment
Act 1995 and introduced into England and Wales in 1997 in order to protect
hedgerows as a characteristic feature of our countryside.
It is now
against the law to remove most countryside hedges without permission
A person
removing a hedgerow without permission may face an unlimited fine.
and the person will
probably be asked to replace the hedge.
Unfortunately
the Act is quite weak, and less than 20% of hedges qualify for protection.
Many important
wildlife-rich hedges are still being lost.
In the UK, hedges occupy a larger area than all nature
reserves combined.
Hedges provide
food and protection for many animals –
for instance berries and nesting sites
for birds
To have a
complete history of some hedges it is necessary to consult old maps.
Interpretation
of hedge lines can tell us much about local history.
Hooper’s Rule
Max Hooper
studied 227 hedges from 75 to 1,100 years old.
He found that
the number of tree and shrub species in a 30 metre length of hedge is roughly
equal to the age of the hedge in centuries
This may be either because the hedge acquires more
species with age,
or because early
hedges were planted with a greater variety of species.
In order to qualify for protection a hedge must be at least 30 years old, and protection is rarely given to urban hedges.
The degree of
protection is dependent on:
·
archaeology
·
or the number of ‘woody’ species in a 30 metre length (a
minimum of six species per 30m)
·
or the presence of rare species
Hedges provide
natural corridors for the spread of species.
Hedges are very
beneficial for bats, and most British species of bat are endangered.
In this area,
Horseshoe Bats are particularly important since the South West is their last
remaining stronghold.
Yansec has donated very sophisticated bat detectors and
associated computer software for the analysis of the bat calls. This has
enabled the North Somerset Wildlife Wardens to identify the species of bat
using these hedges with greater certainty. A survey of the use by bats of local
hedgerows is planned for the coming season.
The North
Somerset Wildlife Wardens working with North Somerset Council have a programme
for surveying the status and biodiversity of hedges in this area.
Would you like
to help us with this work?
If so you should contact Terry Smith
on 01275 854317 or email
t.a.smith@blueyonder.co.uk
Return to the home page 23/09/2006