It’s also a good opportunity to experiment with adding some additional structures & features into your garden around the edges without having it stand out, perhaps a hibernaculum for hibernators, an old log-pile for fungi, introduced corridors for movement etc, all of which will be grown over by vegetation naturally, semi-obscuring it from your vision and adding that extra sensation of wilderness to your garden. If you are happy with a mixture of grasses, wildflowers and/or woody shrubs cropping up around the fringes then this is a good approach for you, as it will develop that natural border between your grass verges and hedgerows. Re-Wildling an Edge: one of the most easily achieved approaches for edge feathering is to simply allow the local vegetation to take it’s natural course, and grow without your having to plant anything. If I listed every possible variation, i’d never finish this post and would most likely go insane. There is a little bit of thinking to be done with this, as you will have to identify the two habitats that are touching in your own garden. So, Ecotones & Edges, they are one and the same and have different results, but typically it’s much more beneficial to have a habitat with ‘soft’ edges rather than abrupt ‘ecotone’ edges. These transitioning edges are extremely valued from an ecological (and economical) perspective as they are incredibly rich in biodiversity, and it’s this richness and complexity that is vital for it’s neighbouring ecosystems. They can be both natural or artificial, but is often an area of interest as they span long stretches along two functioning ecosystems where the unique characteristics of both ecosystems can be seen, therefore technically making it a unique habitat in itself. Whenever an ecosystem/habitat/community changes abruptly from one to another type, this becomes a zone called an Ecotone. Therefore they will try to settle in your adjacent habitats, so you will see and increased abundance of wildlife, and a slew of plants vying for life. Why habitat resilience? Because these edge habitats are not the ideal environments for both plants and animal specie as they present more adverse effects (environmental fluctuations, altered light cycles, increased isolation, noise etc). The practice of Edge Feathering is, at it’s core, a practice of conservation used to make edges re-hospitable for local wildlife, encouraging their travel and temporary habituation, as well as the overall habitat resilience. logs, rocks) or other creative solutions. It can be one of numerous approaches, including cutting existing vegetation, planting various shrubs of differing heights, adding additional natural resources (i.e. We Feather them.įeathering is the act of creating a gradual transition between the two habitat types. So, how do we change an abrupt edge into a gradual edge. These are easily the most common abrupt changes in habitat. The abrupt changes are more common than you’d expect, think of your raised flower beds, your clean-cut grass borders, rockery islands, display ponds, vegetable patches, potted-plants, patio flooring, fenced surroundings. Gradual edges harbour a greater variety of plants, animals and niches from both habitats, unlike those lacking “abrupt edges” that are quite common in gardens. A particularly distinct example is when a woodland borders farmland for crops, the trees are abruptly replaced by these crops with nothing in-between.Īs you may have now guessed from the title it’s these abrupt changes in habitat that are the issue.
your garden, your habitat) are almost as useful as the entire green space itself! An “edge” is slightly different than what you are possibly thinking, as it’s not exactly the actual sides and/or ends of your garden, but actually when one habitat type meets another.