Hedgerows, particularly old and species-rich ones, have been identified as important habitats in the Cumbria Biodiversity Action Plan (see http://www.wildlifeincumbria.org.uk/). The aims of the survey are to find out how much there is and what condition the hedges are in.

This will help target where resources ought to be used to improve the hedgerow network for biodiversity. It is also important to establish a baseline of information so that we can see how hedgerows are changing over time. Further surveys will be carried out in the future to monitor change. With the kind permission and co-operation of landowners over 100 volunteer surveyors have collected detailed information on extent and condition of hedgerows.

Each sample area was a 1 x 1 km square. In each square, the total length of hedge has been mapped (which will allow an estimate to be made for the county as a whole), up to nine 30-metre lengths of hedge have been surveyed in detail, and vegetation plots have also been recorded.

Provisional results

At this stage only provisional, interim results can be given as the survey is not yet complete. Although this incompleteness means the current sample is not representative of the county, it does give an indication of what we might expect to find.

The data suggest that more Cumbrian hedgerows are species-rich (=> 4 woody species) compared with the 'average' for northern England & Wales (68% cw 39%).

The number of woody species per 30m length ranged from 1-14.

Hawthorn is the most frequent species, occurring in 90% of all hedges and is the dominant species in almost half of all hedges (43%). In fact 60% of hedges are single-species dominant whilst the remaining 40% are mixed. Other frequently occurring hedgerow species are brambles and dog rose which are found in about half of all hedges.

At least one non-native species occurred in over 25% of all hedges, with Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus being the most frequent. However, non-native species were dominant (>50% cover) in less than 1% of hedges.

Hedgerow Species % of total number of lengths surveyed Native status*
Hawthorn 91 N
Bramble 50 N
Dog roses 47 N
Blackthorn 37 N
Elder 33 N
Hazel 31 N
Ash 26 N
Sycamore 17 AN
Holly 13 N
Ivy 10 N
Top 10 most common hedgerow species.
*N= native, AN= neophytes (introduced after AD 1500)

Unsurprisingly, nearly 90% of all hedges are adjacent to grassland and over ¼ are adjacent to a metalled road. A much smaller proportion are adjacent to arable land. This information is important in the context of the associated cutting regimes and other forms of management.

About 25% of hedges are between 1m and 2m wide and high and at least 30% are narrow, being less than 1m in width. Over half the hedgerows surveyed are stockproof.