Hedgerows and Their Role in Agricultural Landscapes

Hedgerows, rows of trees or shrubs enclosing or separating fields, are man made. They are part of rural landscapes and should not be studied without considering the farming systems and the rural society as a whole. Their species composition depends on the history of the countryside, as well as current farming practices. Land use and boundary management play a major role in determining the floristic composition of hedgerows, and are strongly related to the grain size of the field's mosaic. Hedgerow networks, due to their rectilinear shape, and with their high degree of connection, enhance or interrupt many fluxes in the landscape. Hedgerows act as a corridor of movement and dispersal for many forest species, such as carabids, small mammals, and plants. On the other hand, hedgerows interrupt or slow down air fluxes and the propagules they carry. In the heterogeneous mosaic of fields and wooded patches, hedgerows often increase the functional connectivity of rural landscapes. The future of hedgerows depends on the changes of the rural society, which includes more and more nonfarmers. Hedgerows will be considered not only as a part of a productive area, but also as an element of a multifunctional landscape.