Hedgerow Appraisal System

Hedgerow networks are perhaps the most characteristic feature of the Irish landscape and give character to an area, providing aesthetic appeal and creating a sense of place. They define agricultural and other lands and knit the landscape into a patchwork quilt. They also provide valuable refuges for biodiversity in a landscape dominated by large tracts of intensive agriculture and function as an alternative habitat for numerous woodland plant species. In addition, hedgerows have the potential to act as corridors for regular movements and dispersal of birds, mammals (especially bats) and invertebrates through the landscape. This Heritage Council funded publication outlines an agreed hedgerow survey methodology and data appraisal system. Future hedgerow surveys will be encouraged to adopt the survey methodology and data assessment outlined in order to produce consistent and reproducible datasets. The publication’s origins stem from a Woodlands of Ireland project called the National Hedgerow Database.