{"id":24090,"date":"2023-03-09T16:18:20","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=24090"},"modified":"2023-03-09T16:18:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:18:20","slug":"life-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2023\/03\/09\/life-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Life lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The short, squat and harshly cut hedgerows of the neighbouring farm stand in stark contrast to the high-growing and wildliferich hedges on Tom Hyne\u2019s farm in Devon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Life lines<\/h2>\n\n

Healthy hedgerows teem with wildlife \u2013 and absorb greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Anna Turns <\/strong>celebrates these unsung wonders of the countryside and learns how to keep them flourishing <\/p>\n\n

Photos: Justin Foulkes<\/p>\n\n

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\u201cLike green veins, hedgerows can act as corridors teeming with native wildlife\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

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Tom Hynes examines the pink blooms of red campion in the hedgerow<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Tom Hynes shoulders his toolbag and sets off from his Devon farmhouse. On the winding country lane, he pauses and points out a tiny plant growing in the hedgerow bank. Dog\u2019s mercury, at first glance, seems quite unremarkable, until Tom explains that these plants favour well-established woods and are a subtle sign that the hedgerow contains remnants of ancient forest dating back more than 400 years. <\/p>\n\n

Yet more treasures lie within this landscape near Winkleigh, north of Dartmoor. Through the wooden five-bar gate, Tom steps into a narrow acre of pasture, marked out by hedgerows that have grown here since the 12th century. \u201cThis is a seriously old hedge \u2013 it\u2019s a culturally important connection to our past,\u201d explains Tom. <\/p>\n\n

Dressed in sturdy welly boots and old work clothes, Tom is here to carry out annual maintenance before these hedgerows of willow, hazel, field maple and blackthorn burst into leaf in spring. He last laid this section 30 years ago; each winter he restores a different hedgerow on his 20-hectare farm. For Tom, hedges are more than artefacts. He firmly believes that the highly skilled craft of hedgelaying holds the key to protecting biodiversity, capturing carbon and adapting to the climate crisis. He would love to see more hedgerows maintained in this traditional way. In fact, he says, the planet depends on it. <\/p>\n\n

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From left:<\/span><\/strong> A hoverfly perches on bluebell seeds; Tom\u2019s hedges brim with a wide variety of species \u2013 the fencing protects young trees from grazing animals<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
WHY SAVE HEDGEROWS? <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Like green veins that run throughout the British countryside, hedgerows can act as corridors teeming with native wildlife. In a study made in 2011\u20132013, the Devon Hedge Group\u2019s Rob Wolton identified an astonishing 2,070 species, mainly insects, in one 85-metre stretch of hedge at a nearby Hatherleigh farm. Small woodland birds and dormice nest among the nooks and crannies, and badgers, foxes and rabbits navigate through these sheltered highways to reach nearby woodlands. Bats feed on the insects living among these linear nature reserves, barn owls hunt along the high banks for small mammals and the berries and fruit growing on the shrubs provide food for other creatures throughout the seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Tom unpacks his tools from his bag and lays them out on the damp ground. There\u2019s a triangular bow saw, an axe, a traditional billhook used for cutting and a huge mallet made of solid elm, known as a beetle. He begins by neatly cutting into the smaller willow stems with his axe, using a swift, easy rhythm. <\/p>\n\n

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A happy hedge is one rich in species, where mature trees intermingle with young trees. The best time to plant hedgerow trees \u2013 such as ash, beech, blackthorn, hazel, hawthorn, field maple, pedunculate oak, rowan, wild pear and willow \u2013 is when new hedges are being established <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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ANATOMY OF A DEVON HEDGE <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Nationally, hedges vary depending on the landscape and purpose. Devon hedges, used mainly to contain flocks of sheep, are distinctive, with a bank that is either stone-faced or turf-faced sloping up from the ground and sometimes a ditch along the bottom. A diverse mix of shrubs and trees grow on top of these earthy banks, from hazel, ash and oak to blackthorn, willow and even apples, with a flower-rich margin at the base. The top bank of a Devon hedge can be up to three metres wide with space in between the hedges along either side. It\u2019s along these structurally complex three-dimensional highways full of intertwined branches and regrowth that so much native wildlife shelters, feeds and travels. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

Neglected hedgerows develop gaps \u2013 making them an unsuitable habitat for many animals that need the cover and protection of a dense hedge to avoid predators. Tom explains: \u201cHedges are a fantastic way of connecting wildlife across those spaces, so joining up that network is really important.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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A silver-ground carpet moth shelters on a leaf in the hedgerow<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

There\u2019s a spill-over effect, too, with bees, butterflies and other bugs pollinating adjacent crops as well as the bluebells, primroses, foxgloves and shrubs within the hedge. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cFarmers should be really proud of wildlifefriendly hedges and we, the public, should show our appreciation for their efforts in looking after these wildlife habitats,\u201d he insists. <\/p>\n\n

Well maintained hedgerows also provide some amazing \u2018ecosystem services\u2019 that benefit humans in unexpected ways. For example, they naturally slow the flow of water down slopes, reducing lowland flooding. For farmers, they help maintain soil health and reduce erosion. And for the planet, they have the potential to absorb millions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, helping to slow climate change (see box below).<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Here in Devon, the lanes and fields are lined with an incredible 33,000 miles (53,000km) of hedges. \u201cIn terms of wildlife and history, we\u2019re definitely the best place in the country for hedges,\u201d says Tom, proudly.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Clockwise from left: <\/span><\/strong>The wildflower red campion brightens hedges and offers a good food source to bees, moths and butterflies; After coppicing, eared willow has regrown with renewed vigour; foxgloves tower among the mixed vegetation, attracting pollinators; wild, unkempt hedgerows offer the best protection for biodiversity<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
AN UNCERTAIN FATE <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Tom is a founding member of the Devon Hedge Group, set up 28 years ago to raise awareness of the significance of this farmland habitat. The group was formed at a time when hedgerows were under threat, as many farmers dug them up or neglected them. More than half of the UK\u2019s hedgerows have been lost since the Second World War. In 1997, legislation was introduced to forbid the removal of countryside hedges without planning permission. <\/p>\n\n

The good news is that many hedges can recover from neglect. Regular hedge-laying is the best form of rejuvenation. From September to late April, stems can be partially cut near the base, then folded down to horizontal positions. From these stems, vertical shoots sprout in spring, winding upwards to thicken the hedge. Without the shade of dense woodland habitats, a huge mix of shrubs, wildflowers and wildlife can thrive. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe want wild and messy hedgerows, nothing too manicured,\u201d explains Tom. \u201cThat\u2019s particularly important within an intensively farmed landscape, where modern rye grass fields are a monoculture that\u2019s of no value to wildlife,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n\n

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From left: <\/span><\/strong>From autumn to spring, stems are part cut and folded lengthways to build the hedge; Tom tidies the hedge by sawing off stray branches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
DEVON\u2019S DISTINCT STYLE <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Styles of hedge-laying vary from region to region and Devon hedges look distinct. \u201cWe\u2019ve got this unusual combination of the bank at the bottom, covered in stone or turf, with planting on top, so hedges looking like ours are fairly unique,\u201d explains Tom. <\/p>\n\n

He points out that Devon has not lost as many hedges as other regions because it remains a pastoral landscape, but in the east, where it\u2019s more arable, fields are now much bigger. Some farmers worry that wider hedges and taller hedge trees cast shade on to crops or might get in the way of tractors. But hedges may benefit cattle. Dairy cows that get a chance to cool off during hot weather in the shade cast by trees in hedgerows produce more milk, according to Tom. <\/p>\n\n

The Devon Hedge Group and other conservationists are calling for financial schemes that ensure hedge-laying becomes a regular part of farm management. \u201cIf we allow sympathetic management of our hedges so that they lock up carbon, and let them grow upwards not outwards, they won\u2019t impact agricultural activity,\u201d says Tom. <\/p>\n\n

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Devon hedges feature an earthen bank at the bottom on which the hedge is laid<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Hedges cost money to maintain. Tom wants Defra (the Department of Food and Rural Affairs) to incentivise farmers to grow more hedges and encourage people to learn to lay them: \u201cHedges are one of the easy options for tackling climate change without us all starving. We need more support for farmers to do the right thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Currently, most hedges get cut by flails \u2013 a machine fitted to a tractor. Tom explains that flails aren\u2019t all bad \u2013 they\u2019re quick and easy to use, especially for roadside hedges, while efforts can be rotated, too, so just one tenth of a farm\u2019s hedges could be laid once every 10 years. \u201c[Flails] are an economic method of cutting hedges and I\u2019d be happy to see most farms perhaps flailing half their hedges and laying the other half on rotation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Many hedges are flailed \u2013 cut by a machine attached to a tractor <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Hedge management is certainly a compromise. Tom wonders whether farmers might enjoy planting more fruit trees in hedges so they\u2019re more obviously productive: \u201cThat\u2019s more like farming,\u201d he adds. \u201cWhere they\u2019re not intensively managed, hedges are such an important part of the countryside, and diversity is the secret.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\u201cAs a hedgelayer, my job is to make it look neat and tidy as well as make it stockproof,\u201d adds Tom, as he tidies up his newest section of hedge, cutting off stray branches and checking the trunks stay firmly in place. \u201cIt\u2019s a sociable way to keep fit, get outdoors, and above all, it\u2019s creative and constructive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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HOW TO RESTORE A HEDGE <\/h4>\n\n