There are many different reasons why hedge rows are dwindling in the landscapes of the UK and Ireland. The history of hedgerow goes back to Tudor times and although it peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, the practice is dwindling today. Many of the sites that used to be used for agricultural purposes have now gone in to the use of Irish forestry. It is amazing how many sites we come across with very little or no hedging on them at all. And there are plenty of reasons why farmers stopped using hedging altogether.

Hedging in the land began to be used all the way back to the times of the Tudor kings in England and in Ireland. This is when small pockets of land were being divided up amongst peasants and the land needed to be parceled off into manageable sections. During the 18th and 19th century, England brought in the Enclosure Acts which saw the use of hedgerows reaching its climax. But there are still very large parts of the UK that are relatively free from hedges these areas include parts of Suffolk and Kent, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire.

Forest Ireland believes that one of the main reasons why farmers stopped planting hedges or removed hedges from their land altogether was the birth of mechanized farming. Mechanized farming increased productivity to a great degree and this increased productivity meant that farmers were able to deal with much larger stretches of land than they were ever before. Hedgerows stood in the way of proper mechanized farming practices. Once the hedgerows were removed, the farmer could use his land to a much higher degree of productivity. And, there was also the fact that in order to keep hedgerows on a property the farmer had to maintain them. This cost a lot of money and proved to be another nail in the coffin for the hedgerow. The farmer would save this money by removing the hedgerows altogether.