Entretien des Haies :Techniques, Equipment and Costs
Hedge hedges maintenance is an essential component of landscape and agricultural management, allowing to maintain the vitality and multiple functions of these plant infrastructures. From biodiversity protection to resource production, the hedge is a multifunctional asset whose sustainability depends on adapted maintenance practices.
Hedge maintenance techniques
The morphology of a hedge is strongly influenced by its maintenance. It is crucial to maintain a diversity of hedge types at the landscape scale to support overall biodiversity. Hedges can present different morphologies depending on their management, all detailed on the Hedge page.
Intervention periods
The choice of maintenance period is crucial for the health of the hedge and respect for biodiversity:
- Prohibited period: For farmers, hedge maintenance is prohibited between April 1 and July 31 under CAP rules.
- Sensitive period for biodiversity: It is generally discouraged to intervene between March 15 and August 15 to avoid disturbing the reproduction of protected animal species (notably birds).
- Recommended period: Maintenance is recommended between January and mid-March to consider hedge fruiting and the availability of food resources for wildlife. For riparian forests (hedges along watercourses), autumn-winter is the most suitable period.
Formative pruning and pruning
These practices aim to guide the growth of young trees and improve wood quality.
Young hedges (0-1 year): Mulching about 100 cm wide is recommended for 3 years to limit root competition from herbaceous plants and retain soil moisture. Watering is only necessary in case of exceptional drought.
| Price | Duration | Thickness | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straw (not delivered) | €1.5-2 / linear meter | lasts 1 year | 30-40 cm loose |
| Wood chips | €7 / linear meter at
normandieecocombustibles |
lasts 2 years | 10 cm |
| Wool | Free | lasts several years | a few centimeters |
Initial coppicing of stool trees and shrubs can be done at planting or at 1 year to stimulate their vigor and root system development.
Protection of young plants against grazing and predation (rabbits, deer, cattle) is systematic for high shoots and recommended for stools.
| Sleeve | Tube | 2 stakes per plant | 2 supports per plant | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of all
plants |
€40 | €420 | €264 | €117 |
| Protection of stools
and high shoots |
€12 | €123 | €78 | €34 |
| Protection of high shoots | €3 | €31 | €20 | €9 |
Young high forest (1-3 years): Annual formative pruning starts from 2 years. It includes removal of forks and pruning of lower branches to raise the crown and improve trunk quality.
Never cut more than one-third of the branch volume of the tree to avoid weakening it.
Young high forest (3-20 years): Formative pruning and pruning continue.
Lateral (or horizontal) pruning
This pruning controls hedge width to prevent encroachment on crops or public roads.
- It can be initiated 6 to 8 years after planting.
- It is essential to maintain a hedge thickness of at least 1.5 meters and a grassy strip at least 1 meter wide for auxiliary fauna.
Coppicing (or Coppice)
Practiced from December to March, coppicing consists of cutting tree or shrub shoots a few centimeters above the collar.
- Benefits: It densifies the lower layer of the hedge, increases root number, rejuvenates the hedge, and allows regular production of firewood or chips, typically every 10-15 years.
- Frequency: About every 10 years for shrubs and 15 years for trees. For young hedges (less than 10 years), an annual coppicing at 10-15 cm from the ground is recommended to promote low branching and plant resistance.
Thinning / Selection
Thinning aims to favor the growth of the best-formed trees in a high forest, by cutting 25% of trees every 15 years for trees of different ages, or the least promising every 20 years for trees of the same age. Selection allows to transform a stool into a high shoot by keeping only the best shoot and progressively removing the others.
Beech coppice management
This specific technique for beech allows to harvest 25% of the stool every 15-25 years, cutting only the largest shoots and keeping the youngest to ensure renewal. This guarantees continuous protection against wind and constant shelter for wildlife.
Hedge marking
Marking, using paints of different colors, allows to clearly indicate to the operator the treatment to apply to each tree :
| Mark | Mark illustrations | |
|---|---|---|
| Tree to harvest | Red diagonal line or red dot |  |
| Future stem | Horizontal orange line |  |
| Tree left for biodiversity | Yellow inverted triangle |  |
Further reading bibliography: https://www.onf.fr/vivre-la-foret/%2B/19c2::le-secret-des-marquages-sur-les-arbres-en-foret.html , https://charlois.com/marquages-en-foret/ & https://pierrecuny.canalblog.com/archives/2022/09/10/39597900.html
Restoration and regeneration of degraded hedges
Facing a degraded hedge, it is often preferable to favor its natural regeneration rather than clear-cut and replant.
- Clear-cut (total coppicing): Allows rejuvenating an aging or damaged hedge by cutting all degraded individuals, thus promoting new shoot regrowth.
- Steps: It involves clear-cutting, selecting promising subjects, shredding surroundings, and possible enrichment planting. Follow-up in subsequent years is necessary to monitor shoots and control pioneer vegetation.
Pleaching
This traditional method consists of notching a shoot (tree or shrub) at its base then laying it horizontally by weaving it with other shoots and stakes.
Benefits: Pleaching produces a low and dense hedge, offering an effective corridor for wildlife. It is done from November to March on plants with a minimum diameter of 5 cm and 2 to 4 meters height (often aged 5 to 10 years). The process is repeated every 15 to 25 years, with lateral maintenance every 2 or 3 years.
Maintenance equipment
Equipment choice must be adapted to hedge characteristics and intervention frequency. All tools must be clean and sharp.
Chainsaw
A versatile tool for precise cuts and coppicing.
- Maintenance: The air filter must be cleaned regularly, and mixing and chain oils are essential for lubrication and performance.
- Safety: Using a chainsaw requires standardized personal protective equipment (PPE): helmet (with integrated eye and hearing protection), cut-resistant gloves, safety pants (adapted to chain speed), and safety shoes/boots. Strict rules must be observed, such as maintaining a safety distance between operators and prohibiting cutting with the upper tip of the guide.
 |
Price (including 20% VAT) |
|---|---|
| Chainsaw 38.6 cm3 STIHL MS
212 |
€459 |
| Chainsaw 50.2 cm3 STIHL MS
271 |
€789 |
| Chainsaw 72.2 cm3 STIHL MS
462 |
€1569 |
| Chainsaw 91.1 cm3 STIHL MS 661 | €1879 |
| Air filter | €12.20 |
| Protective helmet | €63.90 |
| Gloves | €34.10 |
Agricultural machines for maintenance
- Flail rotor (Mulcher / Brushcutter) : The most common tool for annual maintenance or residue shredding. Suitable for branches up to 2 cm diameter.
- Saw bar: Ideal for neglected hedges or edges with branches up to 20 cm diameter, allows clean cuts. Interventions can be less frequent (every 4 to 6 years).
- Cutting bar or pruning shears: Ensures clean cuts on branches up to 8 cm diameter.
- Hedge trimmers: Very precise and fast for regular and frequent maintenance, minimizing wounds.
- Grapple shear / Logging / Feller buncher: Heavier tools used for felling larger diameter trees, each with advantages and disadvantages in terms of speed, cut cleanliness, and space required.
- Splitter / Branch shredder / Large section shredder: Used for economic valorization of wood after cutting, as firewood or chips.
- Stump grinder / Excavator stump removal: Allow removing stumps after felling, especially if replanting is planned.
Associated costs of maintenance
Hedge maintenance represents a cost, but also an opportunity for economic valorization.
General costs
Technical maintenance cost is estimated between €10 and €30 per 100 linear meters per year. Installation costs are about €25/m, and subsequent maintenance between €0.15 and €0.20/m.
Specific costs by type of intervention (for 100m of hedge, indicative)
Felling
| Price for 100 m of hedge | |
|---|---|
| Grapple shear | €188 |
| Feller buncher | €450 |
Firewood production
Costs vary greatly depending on equipment and wood hardness.
| Price for 100 m of hedge | |
|---|---|
| 40cm Ø splitter for 1m logs | €669 |
| 100cm Ø splitter for 1m logs
harder to split wood (beech, hornbeam...) |
€334 |
| Logging 50 cm logs of
easy to split wood (ash, birch...) |
€900 |
| Logging 50 cm logs of
harder to split wood (beech, hornbeam...) |
€1800 |
The price of firewood not delivered ranges from €30/stère (softwood) to €70/stère (hardwood).
Chipping:
| Price for 100 m of hedge | |
|---|---|
| Large section Chipper
+ splitting soft wood |
€398 |
| Large section chipper
+ splitting hard wood |
€538 |
| Branch chipper | €130 |
Post-cut actions (Stump removal):
Stump grinder costs about €300, and excavator stump removal about €117. Branch collection has no estimable cost as time varies greatly.
Lateral/horizontal maintenance:
| Price for 100 m of hedge | |
|---|---|
| Knife brushcutter | €50 |
| Flail mower | €43 |
| Saw bar | €157 |
Sources
GIEE The place of the tree within market gardening systems - MSV - Technical sheets hedges
