Monday, February 17, 2025

Hedgerow: Where Ecology and Agriculture Merge

Hedgerow: Where Ecology and Agriculture Merge
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

                                                       Rural Iloilo from the air. Photo by AVR
Boundary and waterway hedgerows
Contour hedgerows

 
Fence-hedges of bamboo and acacia trees

Hedgerows on field boundaries are popular in Europe and countries where the original forest cover has been removed.  Hedgerows may develop into ecosystems through the years, in fact centuries.  Here, species composition - plants and animals - has reached homeostasis (dynamic balance). In advance cases, hedgerows have become natural forests.   

Hedgerows -   
  • serve as wildlife sanctuary
  • serve  as windbreak and shade
  • prototype agro-forest and orchard 
  • source of wood and fuel, other materials, 
  • cushion global warming, 
  • control erosion and siltation  
  • contribute to aesthetic beauty  ~
 

No comments: