Field Boundaries

The purpose of this study was to develop an evaluation and grading system for the main field boundaries in Ireland – hedgerows and dry stone walls. It is shown that there is a lack of scientific information on Irish field boundaries and very little research has been carried out on what are possibly the most prominent countryside landscape features on the island. In the absence of Irish data, values were extrapolated from research in other countries. In addition, verbal consultation was carried out with prominent landscape ecologists, scientists and environmental consultants. This consultation lead to the creation of a draft survey form modeled on an earlier Hedgerow Evaluation and Grading System (HEGS) (Clements and Tofts, 1992) in the UK. The draft Irish survey, described here, is entitled the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System or FBEGS for short. The FBEGS was field-tested in four locations in Ireland by a number of users to obtain usefulness and accuracy. Feedback from volunteer surveyors led to an amended FBEGS survey form. This was then tested in ten locations nation-wide. Results are given and a grading system is proposed. It is shown that it may be possible to evaluate a field boundary using a simple grading system but the accuracy of such a survey cannot be confirmed due to the lack of baseline data in an Irish context. However, preliminary trial surveys indicate that values assigned to a particular boundary approximate well to professional opinion. Discussion concludes with some recommendations for continued research.

The arrival of the phrase nature-based solutions into the lexicon of academics, planners, managers and policy makers in recent years has sparked a heated debate as to the effectiveness of using nature as a viable solution for mitigating the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change. One of the difficulties of evaluating the potential efficacy and impact of nature-based solutions is that it is believed that there is little evidence by way of a precedent or long-term successful examples. Much literature exists on the subject of designing with nature to provide multi-functional green infrastructure, connectivity in the landscape, and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, in the opinion of many, the nature-based solution approach appears to synergise research into green infrastructure, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service provision for building climate-related resilience. However, when a nature-based solution has been specifically selected over, say, an engineered solution the literature is rather less clear. So, decision-makers may find it necessary to rely on less reliable sources of impact evidence. This paper argues that field boundary hedgerows may be considered to be exemplars of a nature-based solution, one that was planned, designed, perfected and mainstreamed at a landscape scale, that was specifically selected over a non-nature-based solution, and one that is still in providing solutions and co-benefits today. Therefore, hedgerows may provide some perspective into the potential or emergent co-benefits that the current nature-based solution approach seeks to provide.

The ecological values of field boundaries in Ireland are poorly described and much of the currently accepted values are based on extrapolated data from detailed boundary research in the UK, France and elsewhere. Though these locations have similar ecologies and possibly a greater post-glacial biodiversity, it ought not to be concluded that field boundaries in Ireland have identical or even similar functions as other neighbouring landscapes. What data is available in Ireland relates to field boundary landscape characteristics and/or mis-management and few related to ecological research based on survey data specifically related to these boundaries. It may be claimed, therefore, that though much emphasis has been placed on the value of field boundaries in Ireland there are little data to support this in an Irish context.

The data that are available for field boundary stone walls are even less developed than those for hedgerow and margins. This might be because a stone wall is not commonly viewed as a ‘living’ habitat as a row of hedgerow trees or field margins often are. Research on the ecology of stone walls globally is very poor with much of the data relating to secondary sources. Only two publications have been produced that deal solely with this area. Segal (1969) and later Darlington (1981) have produced seminal volumes on the ecology of urban walls and walls of old buildings within which both refer to field boundary walls but ecological references are few. There are no publications dealing exclusively with the ecological characteristics of field boundary stone walls, such as those that may be found throughout the Irish countryside. This is surprising as boundary stone walls are recognised as a specialised habitat (Fossitt 2000). There are two aims of this research poster. The first is to illustrate the lack of data and to propose research aimed at addressing this problem. The second is to seek information from conference attendees on secondardary and tertiary data.

Two common forms of traditional land use systems in Mediterranean landscapes are dehesa and hedged fields. Both are agroforestry systems in which domestic stock are pastured: amongst parklike trees in dehesa, and in enclosures surrounded by stone walls and woody vegetation in hedged fields. The latter are now tending to be replaced by dehesa due to labour costs. Here, we investigate the boundary layer microclimate and environmental characteristics of these two land uses in order to evaluate the respective differences in relation to climate modification, soil organic carbon, and soil water content. Fraxinus angustifolia-dominated sites were investigated in the Guadarrama mountains, Spain, in high summer with simultaneous sampling under trees in both dehesa and hedgerows and in adjacent open fields. Whilst temperature profiles were similar in both systems, hedgerows had higher soil water content, lower wind speeds, and higher total soil organic carbon compared to dehesa, and moreover these trends also applied to open fields of the respective systems. We conclude that not only do hedged fields have advantages over dehesa for shelter and production, but that the climatic modifications of hedged field systems potentially modify boundary layer climates on a broader scale than both individual fields and dehesa. Thus, the conservation of hedged field systems provides natural capital and broad environmental gains.

Field boundaries are important habitats for birds within the agricultural landscape. In this study, bird surveys were carried out during the winter and breeding season on nine farms in the east and south-east of Ireland and field boundaries at each site were assessed using the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS). Poisson regression demonstrated that FBEGS scores were a good predictor of both winter and breeding bird species richness and diversity within the field boundaries studied. We interpret these preliminary results with caution since our sample size was relatively small (compared to the wide variety of field boundary types found in Ireland) and no single combination of field boundary attributes is likely to be optimum for all bird species. However, our results suggest that FBEGS may be a useful surrogate indicator of overall field boundary bird diversity and we discuss the consequent implications for agri-environmental policy, and for the possible adaptation a...

Field boundaries are important habitats for birds within the agricultural landscape. In this study, bird sur- veys were carried out during the winter and breeding season on nine farms in the east and south-east of Ireland and field boundaries at each site were assessed using the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS). Poisson regression demonstrated that FBEGS scores were a good predictor of both win- ter and breeding bird species richness and diversity within the field boundaries studied. We interpret these preliminary results with caution since our sample size was relatively small (compared to the wide variety of field boundary types found in Ireland) and no single combination of field boundary attributes is likely to be optimum for all bird species. However, our results suggest that FBEGS may be a useful surrogate indicator of overall field boundary bird diversity and we discuss the consequent implications for agri-envi- ronmental policy, and for the possible adaptation and use of FBEGS as a tool to monitor the impact of changing farm management practice.

The arrival of the phrase nature-based solutions into the lexicon of academics, planners, managers and policy makers in recent years has sparked a heated debate as to the effectiveness of using nature as a viable solution for mitigating the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change. One of the difficulties of evaluating the potential efficacy and impact of nature-based solutions is that it is believed that there is little evidence by way of a precedent or long-term successful examples. Much literature exists on the subject of designing with nature to provide multi-functional green infrastructure, connectivity in the landscape, and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, in the opinion of many, the nature-based solution approach appears to synergise research into green infrastructure, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service provision for building climate-related resilience. However, when a nature-based solution has been specifically selected over, say, an engineered solution t...

The arrival of the phrase nature-based solutions into the lexicon of academics, planners, managers and policy makers in recent years has sparked a heated debate as to the effectiveness of using nature as a viable solution for mitigating the impacts of anthropogenic environmental change. One of the difficulties of evaluating the potential efficacy and impact of nature-based solutions is that it is believed that there is little evidence by way of a precedent or long-term successful examples. Much literature exists on the subject of designing with nature to provide multi-functional green infrastructure, connectivity in the landscape, and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, in the opinion of many, the nature-based solution approach appears to synergise research into green infrastructure, ecological connectivity and ecosystem service provision for building climate-related resilience. However, when a nature-based solution has been specifically selected over, say, an engineered solution t...