Hedgerow Management in Agricultural Landscapes

Hedgerows are linear strips of woody vegetation that demarcate field boundaries and shape the structure of agricultural landscapes. Historically established for livestock containment and wind protection, they now underpin a suite of ecosystem services, including biodiversity support, nutrient retention and carbon storage. Effective hedgerow management balances ecological and agronomic objectives through practices such as rotational cutting, selective thinning and understorey enhancement. These interventions influence structural complexity and flowering phenology, which in turn affect pollinators, natural enemies of pests and plant community composition. At the landscape scale, the density, spatial configuration and connectivity of hedgerow networks govern habitat corridors for wildlife and modulate microclimatic conditions. Policy instruments and agri-environment schemes increasingly incentivise both restoration of defunct hedges and improvement of existing ones, yet challenges remain in optimising management regimes for multifunctionality. Emerging remote-sensing tools are refining our capacity to monitor hedgerow condition and inform adaptive stewardship that reconciles production goals with broader environmental benefits.

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Hedgerow Management in Agricultural Landscapes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in hedgerow management in agricultural landscapes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hedgerow: A linear arrangement of shrubs and trees forming a boundary between fields or habitats.

Ecosystem service: A benefit provided by natural ecosystems, such as pollination, soil retention or climate regulation.

Field margin: The non-cropped strip of land at the edge of agricultural fields, often managed for conservation or agroecological functions.

Agroforestry: A land-use system combining woody perennials with crops or livestock to deliver ecological and economic gains.

Alpha-diversity: The number of species found within a specific, local habitat patch.

Beta-diversity: The variation in species composition among adjacent habitats or landscape patches.

References

1. Hedgerows have contrasting effects on pollinators and natural enemies and limited spillover effects on apple production. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment (2023).
2. Discrepancies between the drivers of alpha and beta plant diversity in arable field margins. Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2023).
3. The multifunctional roles of vegetated strips around and within agricultural fields. Environmental Evidence (2018).
4. Capturing hedgerow structure and flowering abundance with UAV remote sensing. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (2021).
5. Improving and expanding hedgerows—Recommendations for a semi‐natural habitat in agricultural landscapes. Ecological Solutions and Evidence (2023).