Hedgerow Network Research Articles

Landscape structure effects on carabid beetles spatial patterns in western France

Abstract Analysis of carabids spatial distribution in a hedgerow network landscape in western France, pinpoints the role of the landscape among other levels of ecological organization. Dispersion of forest species differs among core forest species, peninsula forest species and corridor forest species. Abundance 04 forest carabid species in a particular hedgerow is related to the positive effect of a dense herbaceous layer and the presence of a tree layer which is enhanced by the presence of two parallel hedgerows, especially along lanes. At the landscape level distance from the largest forest determines abundance of forest species within the first kilometer out of it. Beyond that, abundance is independent of distance from the source forest and the discriminant ecological factors are: hedgerow structure, presence of lanes bordered by two hedgerows. Introduction Hedgerow network or ‘bocage’ landscapes are characteristic of many parts of western Europe. (Flatres 1959; Meynier 1970), and particularly of western France in Normandy and Brittany. Ecolog- ical functions of hedgerows in agricultural areas have been widely studied for biological processes as well as for flows of energy or matter (Pollard

Hedgerows and hedgerow networks in landscape ecology

Hedgerows originated and coexist with agriculture. Their internal structure and species diversity vary widely with origin (planted, spontaneous, or remnant), farming practices in adjacent fields, and the refined art of hedgerow management. Most hedgerow species are forest-edge species, and apparently none is limited to hedgerows. Wide hedgerows composed of trees and shrubs appear to function as corridors for movement of many plants and animals across a landscape. The reduction of crop loss, by dampening pest population fluctuations with hedgerow predators, remains a hypothesis for study.

“Remembrement”: Landscape consolidation in France

Baudry, J. and Burel, F., 1984. “Remembrement”: landscape consolidation in France. Landscape Plann., 11: 235–241. A method is proposed to help in resolving conflicts between agricultural and ecological needs within such operations as farmland consolidation, and as these affect the hedgerow network landscape of western France. A case study presents a hedgerow network at the beginning of one such operation, the proposed design at the end of the ecological study, and the final design set up by planners and farmers.

The distribution of woodland plant species in some Shropshire hedgewors

A total of 66 samples of roadside hedgerow were examined in a 200 km 2 area of Shropshire not far from the Welsh border. The mean numbers of vascular plant species in samples of increasing length could be expressed as 17·2 × (length of hedgerow in metres/2) 0·2 5. This equation varied somewhat between samples, but not greatly, and the correlation between this variation and the distance to the nearest wood was not significant at the 5% probability level. Association analysis of the floristic data, did, however, provide a fairly clear division into hedgerows with some ‘woodland’ species and hedgerows with few or no ‘woodland’ species, and this difference was not accompanied by any corresponding difference in apparent age of the hedgerow. It is concluded that these ‘woodland’ species do not spread readily throughout the hedgerow network, and that hedgerows do not appear to act as efficient ‘corridors’ for the passage of such plants.