Guide to Best Practices for Sustainable Hedge Management

Intended as an educational resource and a guide to silvicultural and ecosystem knowledge regarding the world of hedge trees and shrubs, this guide is designed for farmers and the technicians who support them, to help them improve their hedge management practices and adapt their use of management equipment. It complements the management specifications for the Hedge Label and serves as a technical resource for sustainable management recommendations for the Sustainable Hedge Management Plan.

The objectives of the Guide to Sustainable Hedge Management Recommendations:

• To rebuild knowledge on silvicultural management applied to hedgerows (addressing the challenge of translating scientific literature focused on hedgerows)
• To explain the physiological functioning of trees and shrubs in response to human interventions such as pruning and cutting (addressing the challenge of a limited scientific literature on this subject)
• To showcase and raise awareness of the hedge ecosystem and its optimal ecological condition (how its plant architecture supports a wide range of flora and fauna, and how the hedge’s natural functioning enables carbon storage)
• Demonstrate the link between hedge management and the ecosystem services provided

This guide is intended to help readers grasp the key principles of silviculture adapted to the different types of hedgerows, as referenced in the national typology, to facilitate their renewal. Structured in three main sections, it will provide in-depth details on:

• the various cutting techniques that ensure regrowth for coppice (re-coppicing, thinning, pruning), tall-growing hedges (formative pruning, thinning, pruning, felling), and pollarded hedges (pollarding, restoration pruning, formative pruning)
• the technical protocols for high-canopy and coppice-type hedgerows to ensure their regeneration,

While describing the proper technical practices to follow, the guide will explain the “why” and the benefits of specific cuts to ensure vigorous tree regrowth. Drawing on scientific research in silviculture, it will help readers understand the physiological responses of plants to human interventions such as pruning and cutting.

Difficulty level: Easy