Save the date!

This week I want to introduce a topic that really interests me and that I feel really strongly about. Like many other final year degree students I am frequently asked what I am doing my dissertation on and I have to say I have received some funny looks when I tell people I'm doing it on hedgerows. I believe that the ecological importance of the hedgerow is severely underestimated, hence why I'm preaching to you now (and in a 12,000 word document that I will hand in some time in April...). Perhaps I'm becoming a bit of a 'hedge-hugger' but I honestly do believe that is a lot to be learnt from these (seemingly boring) linear features.

Having lived in rural Staffordshire all my life - with the exception of the last 3 years which i've spent in the metropolis that is London (pardon my human geography) - the way the hedgerow organises the countryside, marking ownership and dividing land types, has always intrigued me. The high surface area-volume ratio of the hedgerow means that it is mostly edge habitat and this renders it susceptible to interference from surrounding agricultural practices. Agricultural mechanisation, increasing herbicide and fertiliser use and increasing cultivation, have all led to a deterioration of Britain's hedgerow network. This will have severe implications for biodiversity in agrarian landscapes.

I have a lot of reading to sift through before I present you with a proper blog post about hedgerows, but because this topic means so much to me I thought I would officially invite you to read my next post.

Friday 15th November **Hedgerows** 

(I'm still working on an exciting title)

Featuring...

Importance of hedgerows for biodiversity and

Reasons for their decline in Britain

Here's me investigating the effects of grazing on hedgerows