Perspectives

Life in the Margins: The Role of the Post-Modern Hedgerow

by Dave Coulter

Mike Small

Hedgerows are common in the British Isles, where they have been utilized for centuries as natural livestock enclosures and property markers. This hedge-lined
road is found in Yelverton, England.

ne of my favorite memories from

my childhood was finding a box
turtle living under a line of gnarly
Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) trees
in my suburban Chicago neighborhood. It was not until many years later
that I realized that this row of rough
trees, threading through backyards and
along roadsides, was a remnant farm
boundarya 19th century hedgerow
that had outgrown its purpose and yet,
managed to persist into modern times.
The sight of that turtlea small, wild

(by suburban standards) visitormust

have made an impression on me. For
several years now, I have felt that it
is high time to reconsider the role of
hedgerows, to be redeployed, this time,
as a tool in the service of biodiversity
enhancement.
I have to admit that I have a bit
of a sales job ahead of me. It seems
that when most people (especially
Americans) hear the word hedgerow,
they look a little bit puzzled. It is not
a familiar concept, but on occasion I

will get nods of understanding from

naturalists, hunters of pheasant or
quail, and especially from anyone who
has spent any time in the British Isles.
Hedgerows are utilitarian agricultural
features that were developed thousands of years ago to hold in livestock
and to delineate property boundaries.
The modern transformation of
the landscape and society has been
nothing short of tremendous, as
have many of the negative impacts
to ecosystems and biodiversity. This

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Perspectives

Dave Coulter

The authors interest in hedgerows was piqued as a child, as he explored a row of overgrown osage
orange trees (pictured). He later came to realize that these trees were once a hedgerow used as a
boundary marker.

rapid change from the natural to the

rural to the urban is a global concern.
The problems that are associated with
this transition have led many on a
search for pragmatic solutions in order
to shift the balance towards more
positive outcomes. Enter an old friend
from the edges of farm country: the
hedgerow.

Hedgerows seem to have become

harbors of life by accident. Over time,
as agricultural landscapes were being
altered by the hand of mankind, the
adjacent hedgerows and field margins
often became havens for plants,
insects, and animals seeking habitat.
These thinnest of reservoirs began to
gain greater appreciation in the mid

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20th century. In one landmark study

of British hedges conducted in the
early 1960s,1 focus on the ecological
value of hedges was based on the
recognition that wildlifebirds, in
this particular studyhad come to
depend upon these elements in the
landscape as habitats. Such efforts and
understanding have helped lead to
the development of laws that protect
hedgerows. Practitioners in the British
Isles continue to take a leading role
in research to better understand and
promote the biodiversity benefits that
hedgerows can offer.
Several years ago, while conducting a tree survey in the suburbs of
Chicago, I found myself assessing
dozens of old Osage orange trees
growing in two long rows. These
trees were also leftover farm field
boundaries that were now themselves
bounded on all sides by an expressway, new housing, and encroaching
commercial developments. What
struck me was the evidence of
wildlife (birds, small mammals, etc.)
that were clearly making use of these
old hedgerows as a way station in a
setting that was changing before our
eyes. The trees were removed by 2010
to make way for new development,
and I wish now that I could have
spent more time there making more
careful observations of what animals
were visiting.
It was at that time that I really
made the connection that these old
hedges growing in the greatly-altered
Illinois landscape were analogous to
the hedgerows that I had seen growing
in the greatly-altered landscapes of
England. I think there are lessons to be
learned from older cultures to examine where they have been and to see
where we may be headed. Since then,
my thoughts turned to the idea of
American hedgerows, and their potential for improving natural biodiversity
in our own landscapes.

Perspectives
Such renewed interest in hedgerows
has taken hold around the world.
Recent studies, led by researchers such
as Morandin and Kremen,2 have shown
that the restoration and installation of
new hedgerow materials have improved
the populations of pollinators and
native bees. In June 2014, President
Obama announced the creation of a
Pollinator Task Force. For advocates of
hedgerows, this was almost too good to
be true in promoting our cause.
Who cannot see the myriad possibilities offered by a new generation
of hedgerows, linear assemblages
of plants designed specifically for
biodiversity, or for food, pollinators, or
endangered species? We are missing
opportunities, that are right in front of
us, to create new niches for life. How
many suitable spacesurban and
ruraldo we pass every day that are
otherwise going to waste? No amount
of wire fencing has the potential to
regenerate life in this way.
Despite these many possibilities,
hedgerows continue to be removed.
They are often seen as non-productive
obstacles to getting full benefit from
ones land. The operative phrase to
remember when discussing the hedgerows of the future is well-managed. One
of the valid reasons for which hedgerows are disparaged is that they can
become dominated by invasive species,
becoming nothing but a nuisance. This
is fair criticism, but the management
of invasive species can be a problem in
any restoration-type planting. Planting
a hedgerow is like planting any other
man-made installation.
The linear structure and nature
that the hedgerow offers is well
suited to many applications, but their
ongoing management is a question to
which willing designers and ecologists
will have to speak. We are always
tempted to promote beauty and utility
at these moments, but in the projects
upon which I have embarked, the land

Nancy Waldman

Well-managed hedgerows have great potential to positively affect biodiversity.

managers do not necessarily want to

take on new landscape features that
are difficult to maintain.
Once upon a time, our country
put people to work creating windbreaks and shelterbelts in response
to soil erosion and the Dust Bowl.
Here in the early 21st century, an old
friendthe hedgerowis waiting to
be re-deployed and re-employed on a
new mission, or possibly, on more new
missions in more new places than we

can imagine. This is a good old friend

to have, because I believe we live in a
time where we will need to imagine
quite a lot.
References
Moore, NW, Hooper, MD & Davis, BNK. Hedges I.
Introduction and reconnaissance studies. Journal of
Applied Ecology, 201220 (1967).
Morandin, LA & Kremen, C. Hedgerow restoration
promotes pollinator populations and exports native
bees to adjacent fields. Ecological Applications, 23(4),
829839 (2013).

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