Trees & hedgerow management

Traditional orchards

Historical maps and information from 1888 -1913 show that orchards on the Gwent Levels were an integral part of its agricultural and historical heritage. Most farms and small holdings had an orchard and the amount of fruit produced was on a level with that of the Somerset Levels and Herefordshire. Much of the fruit was turned into cider and was frequently used as part payment for migrant agricultural workers (the ‘truck system’, i.e. paying wages in goods instead of cash).

Traditional orchards contain a mosaic of habitats and provide food, shelter and breeding sites for many species. They are a unique and precious part of the heritage of the Gwent Levels.

Pruning

Preserves and restores old trees, removes damaged branches, increases light and air to the tree, controls pests and disease, balances growth and fruit production and manages the size and shape of the tree. Plants respond differently depending on the time of year they are pruned and the age of the tree.

  • Winter: stems are dark brown and rigid; pruning stimulates vigorous growth.

  • Spring: stems are soft and green; pruning promotes side shoots

  • Summer: stems are reddish brown; pruning reduces vigour and stimulates flower and fruit buds.

Fruit tree maintenance

This includes fruit thinning, mulching, and grassland management.

 

Scrub and hedgerows

Manage hedges and scrub so they don’t engulf the trees.

 

Retention of standing dead and decaying wood and/or creation of log piles

Where it is safe, leave standing deadwood as long as possible, then remove to log piles. This provides habitat, food and nest sites, for different species including wood boring insects.

 

Maintaining orchard grassland

Keep the grass around the trees low to reduce pest infestation and ease collection of fruit. This also boosts plant biodiversity in the sward.

 

Mistletoe, ivy and fallen fruit

Monitor and remove quantities of Ivy and Mistletoe to ensure the trees are not smothered or choked and remove rotten fruit away from trees. There is however, a balance between providing nesting and foraging habitat (provided by mistletoe, ivy and fallen fruit) and protecting the health of the trees.

The Sustaining the Gwent Levels SMS project and the Living Levels Programme have been supporting orchard owners to restore and replenish the lost orchards of the Gwent Levels. Safeguarding traditional Welsh varieties, which are important for their heritage value as well as genetic diversity. Varieties which are rare and unique to local areas have been used, such as Morgan Sweet, Birth Mawr, St. Cecilia and Llanarth Early (Pear). These orchards are important sites for biodiversity and many have been designated as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCS).

 

Pollarding

Pollarding of trees is a traditional technique used on the Levels. It has key benefits in terms of reducing shading on the reens/ ditches, scrubbing up, increasing bank stability, maintaining clear channels, reducing silting and increasing the longevity of bankside trees. It has largely fallen out of modern practice with other priorities taking over, however, pollarding not only helps the biodiversity in the reens, and provides breeding sites for small birds and mammals, it is also a factor in maintaining the functionality of the reens and ditches in terms of flood prevention.

 

Hedgerows

Hedgerows on the Levels in biodiversity terms have disadvantages and advantages. They provide important breeding and foraging habitat for a range of small birds and mammals. However, they can shade out the reens, and provide perches for predators such as crows, which prey on the eggs and chicks of ground nesting birds.

To maximise the wildlife value of the local landscape it is important that features such as hedgerows and ditches are managed in a way that ensures both features can support a diverse range of wildlife.

 

Hedgerows and reen/ditch maintenance

Hedgerows should be retained on one side of a ditch only (usually the northern side), this allows light to reach the bottom of the ditch which is vital for certain plants and invertebrates. The removal of scrubby growth from one side of a ditch and scrub clearance requires a dormouse license as the activity has the potential to disturb, damage or destroy a breeding site/resting place or kill the animals.

 

Hedge cutting

Similarly no cutting (or hedge removal) should take place during bird nesting season, between the beginning of March to the end of September. Where possible, maintenance work should be delayed until January/February, as hedgerow berries provide a valuable autumn and winter food source for many species of birds.

 

Rotational cutting

There is a need to cut hedges so that they remain tight and stock-proof but cutting annually reduces the availability of flower and fruit. Ideally hedges should be cut on a two- or three-year rotation, targeting different small sections each year, ensuring there are always flowers for pollinators in spring and berries for small mammals such as dormice and birds in autumn. Hedges cut every three years can produce two and a half times as much blossom as those cut annually. Rotational cutting will reduce the amount of time and money invested in hedge management.

Hedge shape and size

Hedges allowed to become ‘fuller and wider’ will benefit many species including dormice. They are often trimmed to an ‘A’ shape, which is thicker at the base and gets narrower at the top. This provides maximum protection for wildlife, while allowing light to reach the ground flora.

 

Buffer strips next to hedges

Leaving a strip of rough grass next to the hedge where possible is important for most species. By providing two metres of uncut grass next to the hedge, you’ll be providing ideal nesting, feeding, egg-laying and overwintering habitat for birds, insects and small mammals.

Providing nesting sites for birds

The Sustaining the Gwent Levels SMS project and the Living Levels Programme have been working with Goldcliff Ringing Group to provide much needed nest sites for tree sparrow, barn owl, kestrel and little owl. Historical land management practices such as maintaining and pollarding willow along the reen system, and the existence of orchards, previously provided nesting opportunities especially cavities in old trees (used by all key species) and dense regrowth of pollarded willow, used especially by Tree Sparrows. The decline in these historical management practices have led to a loss of suitable nesting sites which is believed to have had a limiting impact on populations. Nest boxes for these four species have been erected throughout the Levels whilst we look to reestablish traditional pollarding and orchard maintenance. The provision of nesting sites combined with continued access to suitable feeding habitat are essential to wild birds.

If you would like to get involved in helping birds in your garden or land holding more information can be found by following the links below.  

 
 
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