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.
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.
Read more at: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Photo Credit: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
