Wilding or rewilding schemes

If calculating the age of a native hedge by counting each species in a 30 yard stretch of the hedge is correct (Hooper's Rule) , ours must be 690 years old. If the ivy is added in too, then 800 years old!

That’s right Callistemon21. The one near me has some unusual plants in and underneath it, I’ve been known to photograph those I don’t recognise and look them up, one I can remember was the bird cherry ermine moth, which took a bit of tracking down.

I'm amazed! This was farmland and very few hedges remain. It has blackberry in it too, does that count?

I haven't checked for any unusual insects.

Feel it's a bit of a jimmick/fashion craze. All things in moderation!

Sadly, Hoopers Rule has been disproved. It is a great shame because about 30 years ago a group of us did a complete survey of all the hedgess in our parish. However the work was not wasted because it shows how groups of hedgerows with similar species in them could be indetified and we were able to indetify all the pre-enclosure open fields because the species in the hedges was entirely different to those in the hedges that surrounded the open fields

M0nica

Sadly, Hoopers Rule has been disproved. It is a great shame because about 30 years ago a group of us did a complete survey of all the hedgess in our parish. However the work was not wasted because it shows how groups of hedgerows with similar species in them could be indetified and we were able to indetify all the pre-enclosure open fields because the species in the hedges was entirely different to those in the hedges that surrounded the open fields

That’s interesting Monica. The one near me is on a drover’s road, so it’s definitely very old because it’s in old pictures, but maybe not 500 years. It does have different species to other hedges locally, that’s why I have to take pictures to identify what things are, it’s strange that they don’t seem to seed themselves very readily in nearby hedges - or maybe they do, but it takes many years for them to become dominant.

Casdon There is no argument that older hedges will have more species, but Hoopers hypothesis was based on hedgerows containing only one species when they were planted - a hawthorn hedge, for example. He thought that different areas of the country had different hedging traditions and his hypotheis did work well for the hedges at the research establishment he worked for.

Bt it is now realised that different hedging traditons can be found all over the place, that, for example, if there was a wood nearby then a selection of plants from the wood, would be used rather than just hawthorn.

In our village, we could see very clearly where the open fields had been because he hedges within them had far fewer species than those lining old roads and paths and around cleared areas of woodland.

Interesting, M0nica.
I have no idea how old our hedge is and was surprised that it could be that old. It may be, of course.

Sounds a bit weird. My immediate thought was, what if you get bushfires ,especially if the place is warming up? I remember my grandma’s farm years ago used to have wild primroses everywhere. So beautiful. It was way off the beaten track and my cousins ,who also lived there, used to get very excited if they ever saw a car. You had to drive across fields to get to their farm.

I just found an old map online from 1800 with the hedge clearly marked, so at least 224 years old 🙂

It’s very interesting, I must seek out some local pictures and maps to find out more.

nanna8 We do not get bush fires in the UK. We sometimes get fires on area of open moor - which have few hedges - but these are usually contained to within a couple of hundred acres, but fires on ordinary farmland - no.

Some hedges in Britain date back 1,000 years or more. Don't get me started on this. The history and archaeology of the countryside has been my passion for over 50 years.

nanna8

Sounds a bit weird. My immediate thought was, what if you get bushfires ,especially if the place is warming up? I remember my grandma’s farm years ago used to have wild primroses everywhere. So beautiful. It was way off the beaten track and my cousins ,who also lived there, used to get very excited if they ever saw a car. You had to drive across fields to get to their farm.

We get wildfires in the UK

I think the worst thing is that often these fires are lit deliberately, and in Australia too.

Years ago we saw someone deliberately setting fire to a common in the south-east, luckily we were able to hastily retreat and someone was already phoning the emergency services from the phone in the car park (that was before mobile phones).

The Australian bush fires can be devastating, especially for wildlife, but the bush does regenerate and some trees need fire to be able to do that.