Hedgerows are essential wildlife corridors and of great ecological importance. County Limerick’s hedgerow network is an asset to the county, being valuable in terms of agriculture, landscape, wild flora and fauna, water quality and carbon sequestration. Removal of hedgerows at key locations can lead to habitat fragmentation, thereby threatening the coherence of this important ecological network.
Limerick is one of only six counties in Ireland to have a Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) population, however there are significant concerns for the Limerick population. A major concern is the isolation of the population from other populations and the potential isolation of subpopulations within Limerick and the protection of treelines and hedgerows could play a significant role in determining the future of the population.
Lesser horseshoe bats hunt in cluttered habitats, such as woodlands and well-developed hedgerows. The species’ characteristic high frequency calls assist it in hunting in these habitats, as they provide the bat with highly detailed information on their immediate surroundings and nearby invertebrate prey. However, a consequence of these calls is that they do not travel far; detecting distant objects is difficult and therefore lesser horseshoe bats rely heavily on linear habitat features such as hedgerows to move between roosts and foraging areas. Closer to roosts, the vegetative cover provided by hedgerows can also allow colonies to emerge earlier to start feeding. When it comes to hedgerows, the more diverse and scruffier the better – they provide more vegetative cover and can support more invertebrate prey species.
Veon Ecology undertook field recording of hedgerows across County Limerick using a standard methodology in No. 10 sample 1 km squares, covering approximately 1% of its total area. The focus of the survey was to record information on the extent, species composition, structure, condition and management of hedgerows in County Limerick.
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