Effects of hedgerow management and restoration on biodiversity – BD2114

Summary

Hedgerows can provide key semi-natural habitat within intensively farmed landscapes, and can deliver habitat and resources for a range of important wildlife, in addition to supporting ecosystem services. The value of hedgerows in supporting wildlife varies, depending on the management applied. Hedgerow management options have high uptake within agrienvironment schemes (AES), both historically in Environmental Stewardship (ES) and in the current Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme, including the Hedgerow and Boundaries grant. Previous studies on hedgerow management have shown substantial potential effects of hedgerow management regimes on the provision of resources for overwintering wildlife (Sparks and Croxton, 2007), and some indication of benefits for wildlife (Maudsley et al. 2000), but have not been quantified or rigorously tested. Here, results from three large-scale manipulative field experiments are presented, to assess different hedgerow management and rejuvenation methods in relation to the provision of resources for wildlife, and the response of invertebrates.