Urgent need to enable more farmers and contractors to revive England’s network of hedgerows
Agri--environment schemes have improved the hedges' structural condition but not overall length
image:
A managed hedge.
view moreCredit: UKCEH
A new comprehensive survey has highlighted an urgent need to enable more farmers and contractors to revive England’s hedgerows to meet national restoration targets. While agri-environment schemes (AES) have improved the condition of these iconic landscape features, the overall length of hedgerows remains unchanged.
Hedgerows act as field boundaries, protect livestock, support biodiversity and help mitigate climate change. However, around half of these important habitats were lost in the post-war years due to agricultural intensification. In the 2007 Countryside Survey, fewer than 50% of remaining hedgerows were judged to be in good structural condition.
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology repeated the hedgerow survey across England in a new project for Natural England. Defra has set a target to create or restore 45,000 miles of hedgerow by 2050.
UKCEH used the data to review the effectiveness of the agri-environment schemes (AES) for hedgerows and carried out a questionnaire of around 400 farmers and contractors to gain a better understanding about their hedge management practices.
Key findings
The England hedgerow survey shows that, overall, agri-environment schemes have had a positive impact on hedge condition, and that more recent schemes are supporting more restoration and planting of new hedges.
Findings of the UKCEH report, An evaluation of Agri-Environment Scheme impact on hedgerows in England, include:
- There was no statistically significant change in the overall length of managed hedgerows in England between 2007 and 2023, which is estimated to have remained at around 400,000km.
- The proportion of hedgerows in good structural condition increased from 43% to 55% between 2007 and 2023. For hedgerows under AES the figure rose to 63.5%, compared to 46.8% for those outside such schemes.
- Hedgerow height generally increased between 2007 and 2023 with the majority of hedges now taller than two metres, rather than in the one to two metre category. Hedges under AES were slightly taller than those outside schemes.
- Many hedges have deteriorated in recent years due a lack of ongoing maintenance, resulting in gappy hedges or lines of trees.
- The diversity of plant species at the base of hedgerows has not improved.
Biodiversity and climate benefits
Defra aims to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerow by 2037 and 45,000 miles by 2050. However, the Climate Change Committee recommends that the national hedgerow network should be increased by 40% by 2050, while Natural England’s long-term aspiration is a 60% increase in hedgerow extent to support thriving plants and wildlife.
Dr Lisa Norton, the UKCEH agro-ecologist who led the hedgerows study, says: “There are signs that agri-environment schemes are having a positive effect on the condition of England’s hedgerows. However, efforts to meet national targets for lengths of managed hedges are falling short.
“To meet national targets, we urgently need to increase participation in these schemes among farmers and landowners through better incentives and advice so they can rejuvenate our network of hedgerows.”
Dr Norton emphasises that increased planting and better management, including laying and coppicing, would maximise hedges’ ability to capture and store carbon, helping us reach net zero. It would also provide more habitat for insects, nesting birds and small mammals, supporting ecosystem services such as pollination and natural pest control, as well as enhance our landscapes.
In addition to AES funding, many non-governmental organisations such as the Woodland Trust provide funding and support for hedgerow and tree planting.
Farmers’ feedback
UKCEH’s survey revealed that farmers are keen to maintain their hedges both to protect livestock and improve local wildlife. However, they highlighted the need for adequate funds for planting, establishment, and ongoing management of hedges.
Agricultural contractors reported that agri-environment schemes had been designed without their input and said there had been numerous issues with managing hedgerows in line with the schemes’ regulations, affecting their businesses. They also highlighted the potential advantages of investing in farmer and contractor training in hedgerow management.
The results of UKCEH’s survey and study will be used to shape future policies and strategies aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of hedges across England. The report and a summary are available on the Defra website.
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Media enquiries
For interviews and further information, please contact Simon Williams, Media Relations Officer at UKCEH, via simwil@ceh.ac.uk or +44 (0)7920 295384.
Notes to Editors
Surveyors recorded the lengths, locations and attribute, such as height, width and management, of all hedgerows in the English Countryside Survey squares. Plots sampling species and additional hedgerow attributes in both the woody component and the area below and adjacent to hedgerows were recorded for both randomly sampled hedgerows and for hedgerows under agri-environment scheme options in squares.
UKCEH’s questionnaire complemented a separate survey of farmers, commissioned by CPRE, which showed strong support for government plans to increase our hedgerow networks but highlighted a lack of funding is by far the biggest obstacle to planting and maintaining hedgerows.
About the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a leading independent research institute dedicated to understanding and transforming how we interact with the natural world.
With over 600 researchers, we tackle the urgent environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
Our evidence-based insights empower governments, businesses, and communities to make informed decisions, shaping a future where both nature and people thrive.
www.ceh.ac.uk / @UK_CEH / LinkedIn: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, It's just a spring clean for the May queen
New study reveals half a century of change on Britain’s iconic limestone pavements
Fifty years of change on iconic limestone pavements has revealed mixed fortunes for one of the most distinctive landscapes in the UK
Lancaster University
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Limestone pavement in the Yorkshire Dales
view moreCredit: Professor Carly Stevens
Fifty years of change on iconic limestone pavements has revealed mixed fortunes for one of the most distinctive landscapes in the UK.
The landscapes - which will be familiar to visitors to the Yorkshire Dales and fans of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film – have, in many places, seen reductions of specialist species and more common less desirable species become more abundant.
However, it is not all bad news as the picture is very mixed across the UK’s areas of limestone pavement with some areas increasing in plant biodiversity.
The findings, which reveal large changes since the 1970s, are from the first national assessment in half a century of plants and vegetation in Britain’s rare and iconic limestone pavements, which was conducted by Carly Stevens, Professor of Plant Ecology at Lancaster University.
An internationally important habitat, Britain’s limestone pavements are predominantly found in the northern English counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, as well as in North Wales and Scotland.
Plants, such as ferns and herbaceous species more commonly found in woodland, heathlands and grasslands, grow within the deep gaps and cracks in limestone pavements known as grikes, often creating a hidden world that you cannot see until you stand directly above them.
In the early 1980s laws were introduced to protect limestone pavement from quarrying, and many areas are now covered by nature reserve status.
However, despite being a rare and treasured landscape feature, and habitat to many specialised plants and wildlife, Britain’s limestone pavements have undergone few scientific studies.
To help address this, Professor Stevens repeated a limestone pavement survey undertaken by two scientists (Stephen Ward and David Evans) in the early 1970s.
Professor Stevens used the same methods to replicate the 1970s study as best as possible, surveying areas of limestone pavement totalling 3157 hectares across five years between 2017 and 2022.
Her study, which is published in the academic journal Functional Ecology, recorded 313 plant species across UK limestone pavements – an additional 29 species on the number recorded in the 1970s.
And some pavements saw the number of plant species living there, or species richness, increase.
However, despite many areas falling under the protection of nature reserves, some less desirable species, such as thistles, nettles and bracken, have increased in abundance across different limestone pavements in the UK. And Professor Stevens also found that important specialist species, such as primrose, lily of the valley, elder flower trees and hairy violet, have declined in abundance across UK limestone pavements.
However, these declines were not uniform and some of these species did see increases in some areas – adding to a complex, but important picture that will be invaluable information for conservationists.
“Limestone pavements have undergone large changes in the number and types of plants that live in these rare and spectacular habitats,” said Professor Stevens. “Limestone pavements are a habitat of high conservation value and they are protected for their unusual geology and the plants and animals that live in them.
“But if we are to conserve them for future generations, it’s important to understand why these changes have occurred.”
A major factor appearing to affect some limestone pavements is tree cover. Professor Stevens undertook aerial photography comparisons with historical aerial images for all the limestone pavements in England to compare how the number and size of trees had changed.
She found that some pavements had seen their area shaded by trees increase by more than 50%. Despite this the number of pavements without trees also increased, showing there’s a very mixed picture across different areas – often depending on the number of trees in the surrounding area.
Pavements where the numbers of trees and shrubs increased have commonly seen reductions in plant biodiversity. Professor Stevens believes this is probably due to trees and shrubs blocking off the light for smaller plants in among the grikes. Those pavements most affected by tree cover are found in Lancashire and Cumbria.
Those pavements that have low or moderate tree cover are more likely to have seen increases in species richness – though not necessarily with desirable specialist species.
Professor Stevens found many open pavements were impacted by grazing of animals, though there have been changes in the 50 years between surveys.
“Grazing pressure has declined in a lot of areas since the 1970s as a result of agricultural policy but there are still some pavements that are overgrazed,” said Professor Stevens. “Grazing can be an important tool in the management of limestone habitats but it needs to be carefully considered as overgrazing can result in a loss of biodiversity. Similarly, under-grazing can result in scrub and tree encroachment, which we see can also affect diversity and species composition as light levels are reduced.”
The survey will help to inform the future management of limestone pavements, an area that is still developing and will benefit from the survey results and additional data.
“At this stage we don't actually know what optimal management looks like for limestone pavements,” said Professor Stevens. “This survey provides vital data to help further understanding on what the current picture is for limestone pavement vegetation. However, we still need more research to help improve our knowledge on what the threats are to habitat and the potential for restoring damaged limestone pavements.”
The study is outlined in the paper 'Large changes in vegetation composition seen over the last 50 years in British limestone pavements'.
ENDS
Journal
Functional Ecology
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Large changes in vegetation composition seen over the last 50 years in British limestone pavements
Article Publication Date
14-Nov-2024
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