Wildlife Enhancement on Prince Edward Island
Island hedgerows

The Island was once almost entirely forested. As land was cleared for agriculture, the boundary lines between farms had to be fenced to keep livestock from straying. Many times the first fences were roughly-piled stumps and poles (the expression "ugly as a stump fence" comes from that era). Stones laboriously picked from fields were thrown along these lines as well. Internally, farms had to be cross-fenced into fields of a suitable size for crop rotation, and also to keep livestock where they belonged. The result was to turn the land into an attractive and functional checkerboard pattern of inclosures and exclosures.

Traces of this pattern remain today in the living boundaries that we call hedgerows. This Island wants to grow trees, so land not cultivated will soon start to become woody again. Single or double lines of trees, often grazed out underneath as high as livestock could reach mark the old fence-lines. White spruce, often scarred with wire, is the most common tree, but several others frequently appear: apple, cherry, poplar, hawthorn and white birch turn an old fence-line into a thin, elongated woodland - very different from the original forest but still pleasing to many living things.

These hedgerows have several values, not the least of which is to serve as windbreaks and thus to be important in saving our easily-eroded soils. Snow melt and runoff is slowed - sometimes slowed too much for an impatient farmer anxious to get on the land. Shallow tree roots can also project from the hedgerow to catch a plowshare. The move to industrialized farming with big machinery meant that too many hedgerows were casually removed; fields got bigger and erosion increased. Today we have only a fraction of the hedgerows of a century ago, but what we have still gives rural PEI much of its landscape character.

Given a chance, a hedgerow will expand and diversify to provide habitats for an astonishing number of plants and animals. As the backbone trees grow, shade is provided for common woodland species such as bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) and wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense). Many shrubs, particularly from the rose family, will appear. Ferns take advantage of the newly-shaded habitat. Birds and small mammals become highly evident, and larger mammals use the edge as a corridor along which to hunt. A hedgerow is not just a line of trees - with protection, it becomes, quite naturally, a complex ecosystem.

The European ‘quickset' hedges of hawthorn and willow never became popular on the Island, perhaps because maintaining them is quite laborious. However, hawthorns, wild pear, cherry, rose, mountain ash and other food-producing shrubs are easily established in a hedgerow, and will survive all but the most severe attacks by wintering mice.

Establishing a hedgerow or shelterbelt begins with planning, not only in terms of shelter but also in the connections that will be established. Try to get space for at least two, preferably three lines of trees. If you want a natural look, avoid planting trees in too regimented a fashion, but give them plenty of space to grow. Interplant with shrubs but give naturally-invasive species a chance as well; the hedge as it grows should surprise you with something new almost every year.

The provincial Department of Agriculture & Forestry has incentive programs for hedgerow establishment. Call 368-4800 for information.

The Public Forest Council is interested in hedge-rows as conservation measures and to produce wild foods or other products of economic value. Contact Ian MacQuarrie at 964-3329.

There are many books and pamphlets on hedge-rows and wild plants, including: Schneider, Gary. Native Trees and Shrubs. The Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, Orwell, PEI, 1999. Lots of information on native plants, windbreaks and hedgerows.

Stewart, Paul. Hedgerows for PEI Farms. PEI Adapt Council, Charlottetown, 1999. Available from the Adapt Council (368-2005) or Agriculture Canada. This is a detailed account of hedgerow values, and with tips on establishment and maintainence.

The Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, a member of the Island Sustainable Forest Partnership Cooperative with assistance from Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian Forest Service and the Model Forest Program have put together this series of information sheets concerning Wildlife Enhancement on Prince Edward Island. Thanks to Beth Hoar from GreenThumb Photography. Web development and maintenance by Chris Martin.