Each year in Ireland under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended by Section 46 of the 2000 Amendment Act, forbids the burning, cutting, grubbing, or destruction of vegetation, with certain strict exemptions, from 1 March up until the 31 August. Some may think that the hedgerows one and only function is to divide the land. Although this is in fact true of a hedgerow it is in fact only a minor benefit.
Agricultural Benefits:
- Hedgerows can provide livestock with shelter and shade
- Prevent soil erosion
- Help reduce agricultural runoff affecting rivers and causing pollution.
- Help reduce leaching
- Help improve soil health and vegetation growth
- Provide additional forage for livestock
Ecological Benefits:
- Hedgerows contain a wide variety of flora species, from trees to shrubs to flowers.
- Play a vital role in maintaining and supporting biodiversity in Ireland
- Provides shelter and food to a variety of fauna including birds, small mammals, and many insect species including pollinators
- Ideal place for nesting and resting
Climate Benefits:
- Good hedgerows have been proven to be very effective at capturing Carbon- would highly recommend this study
Ford, H., Healey, J.R., Webb, B., Pagella, T.F. and Smith, A.R., 2021. Hedgerow effects on CO2 emissions are regulated by soil type and season: Implications for carbon flux dynamics in livestock-grazed pasture. Geoderma, 382, p.114697
Agroforestry is a strategy in place to help offset the carbon emitted from agriculture. It combines growing trees together with crops and/or livestock. As such it is creating new hedgerows in areas where they were not originally or have since been removed.
