Managing Hedgerows for Biodiversity

Hedgerows play a crucial role in the English landscape, serving as essential habitats for wildlife while also supporting agricultural practices. Properly managed, hedgerows can enhance biodiversity by providing food, shelter, and corridors for many species, from pollinators and birds to small mammals. As natural boundaries, they create connections between fragmented habitats, enabling wildlife to move safely through the countryside.

This article focuses on managing hedgerows to maximise biodiversity, offering techniques for cutting and shaping hedgerows and strategies to balance agricultural use with wildlife conservation.

The Role of Hedgerows in Supporting Biodiversity

Hedgerows are critical ecosystems in their own right, offering varied habitats for a range of species. By understanding their role in supporting biodiversity, landowners can manage hedgerows to contribute to the health of local wildlife populations.

Pollinators

Pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and other insects, rely on flowering plants for food. Hedgerows that include flowering species like hawthorn, blackthorn, and wild rose provide vital nectar sources throughout the spring and summer. These plants not only benefit the pollinators but also support nearby crops, as many pollinators are crucial for agricultural productivity.

Best species for pollinators:

• Hawthorn: A key nectar source in spring.
• Blackthorn: Provides early blooms that support pollinators coming out of hibernation.
• Dog Rose: Flowers in the summer, extending the availability of nectar.

Birds

Hedgerows are essential habitats for many bird species, offering food, nesting sites, and protection from predators. Dense, well-maintained hedgerows provide safe places for birds to nest, while fruiting plants such as blackthorn and hawthorn supply berries that birds rely on during colder months. By managing hedgerows with bird life in mind, you can help support species diversity and population growth.

Key hedgerow plants for birds:

• Hawthorn: Offers dense cover for nesting and berries in autumn.
• Blackthorn: Provides excellent shelter and a food source in the form of sloes.
• Field Maple: Adds structural variety and additional nesting spots.

Mammals

Small mammals such as hedgehogs, voles, and bats find shelter and food in hedgerows. These animals use hedgerows as corridors to move between feeding and breeding areas, often relying on them to navigate across farmland or estates. Dense hedgerows with a mix of plant species can support a variety of mammals, improving overall ecosystem health.

Techniques for Cutting and Shaping Hedgerows to Maximise Biodiversity

Managing hedgerows for biodiversity involves more than simply letting them grow wild. Careful cutting and shaping can actually enhance the ecological benefits of hedgerows, creating better habitats for wildlife and improving plant health.

Rotational Cutting

Rather than cutting the entire hedgerow at once, rotational cutting—where different sections of the hedgerow are trimmed on a rotating schedule—ensures that some areas are always left to flower and fruit. This technique allows pollinators and birds to continue using the hedgerow for food and shelter, even while other sections are being managed.

How it works:

• Rotate cutting: Trim one-third of the hedgerow each year, leaving the remaining two-thirds uncut. This ensures that there are always areas with flowers and berries available.
• Timing: The best time to cut hedgerows is during the winter months, outside of the nesting season (March to August), to avoid disturbing wildlife.

Hedge-Laying

Hedge-laying is a traditional technique where stems are partially cut and laid horizontally along the ground, encouraging new growth. This method rejuvenates old or overgrown hedgerows, promoting denser, thicker growth that provides better shelter for wildlife.

Benefits of hedge-laying:

• Creates thicker growth: Dense hedgerows offer more nesting sites and cover for birds and small mammals.
• Encourages regrowth: New shoots grow from the base, rejuvenating the hedgerow and preventing gaps that can weaken its ecological value.

Varying Hedge Height

Maintaining varied heights within a hedgerow supports a wider range of species. Taller sections provide better habitats for birds and mammals, while shorter, denser areas are ideal for small animals and insects. A diverse structure within the hedgerow maximises its ecological value.

How to vary height:

• Allow some sections of the hedgerow to grow taller before cutting, while keeping others trimmed lower.
• The varied structure creates microhabitats, supporting species that need different types of cover or feeding areas.

Balancing Functional Agriculture and Wildlife Conservation

While hedgerows offer numerous benefits to wildlife, they also play an important role in agriculture, providing windbreaks, preventing soil erosion, and marking field boundaries. Effective hedgerow management must balance these agricultural functions with the need to conserve biodiversity.

Using Hedgerows as Wildlife Corridors

Hedgerows act as natural corridors, linking different habitats across farmland or estates. These corridors allow species to move between feeding, nesting, and breeding sites without having to cross open fields or roads. Maintaining connectivity between hedgerows is essential for species survival, particularly in landscapes where habitats are fragmented.

Creating wildlife corridors:

• Ensure hedgerows are connected to other habitats, such as woodlands, ponds, or other hedgerows, to allow wildlife to travel between them.
• Avoid leaving gaps in hedgerows, as even small breaks can disrupt the movement of animals, particularly small mammals and amphibians.

Minimising Agricultural Impact

When managing hedgerows on working farms, it's important to reduce the impact of agricultural activities, such as pesticide use, on wildlife. Hedgerows should be treated as valuable ecological features, and care should be taken to limit chemical sprays near their borders to protect pollinators and other wildlife that rely on them.

Best practices:

• Avoid using pesticides and herbicides near hedgerows, particularly during flowering seasons when pollinators are active.
• Maintain a buffer zone between hedgerows and fields to reduce the impact of farming activities on the ecosystem.

Managing for Multiple Uses

In many cases, hedgerows can be managed for both agricultural and ecological purposes. For example, a hedgerow that provides a windbreak or boundary marker can also support pollinators and birds if it is properly maintained. By managing hedgerows with dual objectives in mind, landowners can benefit from both increased productivity and improved biodiversity.

Dual-purpose management:

• Choose species that offer benefits to both agriculture and wildlife, such as hawthorn or blackthorn, which provide windbreaks while also supporting pollinators and birds.
• Use rotational cutting to maintain hedgerow functionality for agriculture while preserving areas for wildlife.

Hedgerows are vital for supporting biodiversity while also serving as important agricultural tools. By carefully managing hedgerows with biodiversity in mind—through techniques like rotational cutting, hedge-laying, and creating wildlife corridors—you can enhance their ecological value without compromising their agricultural function. Properly managed, hedgerows offer a balance between wildlife conservation and productive land use, supporting a healthy, sustainable landscape for generations to come.

‍