Bunce Lecture: Is the future looking bright for hedgerows in the UK?
28 November, 15:00-16:30 GMT/UTC
Hedgerows are important ecological corridors and characterise UK farming landscapes but have been under immense pressure for decades. But with renewed appreciation of their importance, is the future looking bright for UK hedges?
ialeUK have organised this year's Annual Bunce lecture (in honour of the late Bob Bunce, a founding member of ialeUK) to encourage this discussion and to learn from leaders in the field of hedgerow ecology.
This free event will be held via MS Teams - please register here.
Our keynote speaker, Lisa Norton (Landscape Ecologist at UKCEH), will provide the latest insights about the condition and trends of hedgerows in the UK. This will be followed by a panel discussion with experts from across Great Britain, who will reflect on Lisa's talk in light of hedge policy, practice and research in the UK
Abstract
Hedgerow monitoring in the GB Countryside Survey (CS) has provided important evidence on changes in the extent and condition of hedges over the past five decades. Between 1998 and 2007 it revealed a loss of managed hedges and a steady transition into lines of trees. An assessment of the condition of hedges in 2007 indicated that less than half of all hedges were reported to be in good structural condition and still fewer had appropriate margins. The diversity of flora associated with the bottom of hedges showed a steady deterioration between 1978 and 2007. In 2022/23 UKCEH carried out a repeat survey of hedges for Natural England to assess the impacts of agri-environment schemes in England since 2007 and conducted online surveys with hedge managers to provide insights into management decisions. This presentation will show the results of this work and of aligned hedgerow surveys in Wales since 2007 and will describe current hedgerow monitoring in other UK countries.
Panellists
- Dr Jaques Baudry, French landscape ecologist with a special interest in hedgerow since the early 1980s
- Nigel Adams, Experienced hedgelayer in the Chilterns Hills advising and working with farmers, estates, conservation organisations and small landowners
- Emma Marrington, Experienced campaigner and landscape enhancement lead at CPRE, the countryside charity
Agenda (times GMT/UTC)
- 15:00 – 15:05 Welcome
- 15:05 – 15:35 Keynote talk by Lisa
- 15:35 – 16:00 Discussion panel
- 16:00 – 16:30 Audience Q&A
ialeUK Annual Meeting
28 November, 16:30-17:00 GMT/UTC
Of particular interest to ialeUK members, but open to all who wish to join, the Bunce Lecture will be followed by our Annual Meeting. We will reflect on the past year's activities, present the committee for the coming year, and share plans for the year ahead. If you are interested in playing a more active role you can find the committee role descriptions here, and we are receiving applications for roles at marc.metzger@ed.ac.uk up until the event.