Hedges
The history & importance of hedgerows in Ireland, threats, hedges and the law, how to protect a hedge in your area, and how to plant a hedge.
A brief history of hedges in Ireland
Hedgerows are a valuable component of Ireland’s cultural and natural heritage. Hedges have been used as cattle enclosures since early Christian times. By Medieval times many hedges had been planted to enclose ‘town lands’, making townland boundary hedges among the oldest hedges in the country. The familiar modern hedged landscape in Ireland dates from the 18th century, and further enclosures occurred as result of ‘Agricultural Revolution’ and the Enclosures Acts of the 1800’s.
Old hedges made up of native trees and shrubs, tend to have greater value in heritage and wildlife and heritage terms, having larger banks and ditches and being richer in species diversity.
Multiple benefits
Hedges provide far reaching social and environmental benefits.
- They add to the scenic appearance of the landscape, giving a wooded impression, despite Ireland having the lowest native woodland cover in Europe.
- Hedges and trees regulate water movement in landscape, reducing flooding and improving water quality through aiding filtration of water. They are important for fisheries as they reduce siltation (the accumulation of small particles of soil in waterways) in waterways.
- As stock-proof boundaries hedges provide shelter to stock; prevent spread of disease between animals in adjacent plots; prevent soil erosion; and support beneficial invertebrates.
- The lack of deciduous woodlands in Ireland makes hedgerows an important surrogate habitat to a wide range of wildlife. They support all levels of the food chain, from wild flowers, butterflies and ladybirds, to bats, hedgehogs and owls. There are 149 species of invertebrates in Hawthorn and Blackthorn, and two-thirds of Irish birds nest in Hedgerows!
- As a source of deciduous trees they contribute to carbon sequestration
- Hedges and trees can increase property values by anything from 5 – 20 %. As such they are an asset to any development and should be retained and protected as part of any new development. Some local authorities reflect this in County Development Plans.
Threats
The most obvious threats to Ireland’s hedges come from for housing development, roads, and farm restructuring. Facing these pressures hedges are often uprooted to be replaced by sterile block walls or fences.
Through these processes thousands of kilometres of hedgerow have been lost throughout Ireland in the past two decades.
But hedges are also facing serious decline in Ireland through neglect and mismanagement.
Hedges and the Law
Section 46 of the wildlife (amendment) Act of 2000 amends section 40 of the principal Wildlife Act(
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA38Y2000.html). It is now an offence to “cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch” during the nesting season (beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August).
Exemptions exist for
- state bodies carrying out works for reasons of public health or safety;
- destroying, in the ordinary course of agriculture or forestry, of any vegetation growing on or in any hedge or ditch;
- the clearance of vegetation in the course of road or other construction works or in the development or preparation of sites on which any building or other structure is intended to be provided
This means that if a hedge is being cut during nesting season by a contractor for a local authority, it must only be cut in the interest of public safety. For example, if a local authority is cutting the growth back on a dangerous bend where vision is impaired, they may only cut where there is a safety issue, and are not permitted to cut, for example, on a different adjacent stretch where safety is not an issue. The state can request a statement of the public health or safety factors involved from the person / authority involved.
For concerns in relation to hedge cutting / removal, please contact our Natural Environment Officer AND your local National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger. The numbers of the rangers are available online or in the telephone directory under the Department of the Environment.
There may also be a stipulation or condition associated with planning permission to retain hedgerows and trees.
As An Taisce are a charitable non-governmental organisation we do not have the remit or power to intervene, though we can offer advice. The local authority and the National Parks and Wildlife Service oversee and ensure the implementation of the Wildlife Acts and the County Development Plan.
Planting a Hedge
- For blending in to existing landscape and for wildlife it is best to plant any new hedge with native Irish species, which will in time provide valuable habitat for wildlife. Native species from native seed sources are adjusted to Irish climate and soils. Irish wildlife is carefully adapted to native species also. Ideally plants should be sourced locally from local stock.
- If buying bare rooted plants, ensure the roots are kept covered and moist until the moment of planting
- In well drained ground hedges should be planted in the late autumn, and in heavy or wet ground in early spring. Avoid planting just before frost.
- Hedges must be protected from grazers until they become established. Use fencing, old cardboard, or reuse plastic from the silage clamp.
- In deciding what species to plant, think first of what you would like from your hedge. Is it primarily fro shelter, for flowering and wildlife, or for colour? Also look to see what is growing in the hedges around you to see what grows well in the area.
- Some native shrub species for planting:
- Whitethorn & Blackthorn
- Holly
- Willow & Guelder rose (good in wet ground)
- Hazel
- Elm
- Spindle
- Some native tree species for planting in a hedge include:
- Ash
- Willow
- Oak
- Birch
- Wild cherry
- Mountain Ash (Rowan)
Sycamore and Beech have very heavy canopies which prevent light from reaching the hedge layer and can weaken the hedge beneath. These are also not native species and thus do not benefit wildlife so much as native tree species.