Hedges and environmental benefits

Benefits of hedges:

• Hedges offer protection and nesting opportunities for various species of garden bird.
• Hedges are also a dust and rubbish catcher. Just look at hedges bordering industrial sites and alongside busy streets. The bushes catch an incredible amount of litter.
• Less visible, but very measurable, is the ability of hedges to capture dust. The wind-breaking effect of a hedge means that dust from the air can be deposited in the hedge, after which the rain carries it onto the soil where it may be neutralised or absorbed.
• Trees and shrubs reduce noise. 

'Breathing' hedges

Hedges, shrubs and tree planting in general therefore have a favourable effect on the environment and air quality. That is of increasing importance, particularly in densely populated areas with lots of traffic and industrial activity. It is also true that by ‘breathing’, hedges filter polluting gasses out of the air and suffer little ill effect from them themselves. That also applies to many trees and shrubs. Councils often take account of this when selecting plants.

Hedges reduce noise

Evergreen hedges can partly reduce noise by scattering the sound. The effect is even greater if a shrub planting is combined with an embankment which lifts the sound up, after which it is bounced back and scattered by the bushes on the embankment.

Of course the scattering effect is greater as the hedge or planting becomes thicker, and it differs according to species (see below). Good properties are: large leaves, leaves perpendicular to the source of the sound, dense foliage.

Up to 10 to 12 dB (decibels):
Acer pseudoplatanus

8 to 10 dB reduction:
Viburnum lantana
Viburnum rhytidophyllum
Tilia platyphyllos

6 to 8 dB reduction:
Carpinus betulus
Fagus sylvatica
Ilex aquifolium
Quercus robur
Rhododendron
Philadelphus pubescens