David Mears, an economics undergraduate at the University of Exeter supported by the Exmoor Society’s Research Fund, has carried out research into Exmoor’s hedgerows, offering new insights into their total length and contribution to carbon storage. His work will contribute to the register of Exmoor’s natural capital.
Using a new LIDAR-based dataset developed by Dave Luscombe at the University of Exeter, David improved mapping techniques to more accurately measure Exmoor’s hedgerows. By refining the data using polygon shapes to represent the hedgerows’ area, and further processing these into vector-based representations he produced a comprehensive estimate of Exmoor’s hedgerows. This shows that their total length is between 4,500 and 4,816 kilometres—significantly higher than previous estimates of 582 to 2,300 kilometres by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in 2014 and 2024.
These new findings will help researchers and policymakers gain a better understanding of Exmoor’s landscape, guiding future conservation and resource allocation efforts.
Additionally, David’s research estimated the carbon stored in the hedgerow vegetation and surrounding soil. By applying various carbon pricing models, he was able to calculate a baseline value for the carbon sequestered in Exmoor’s hedgerows, offering valuable insights into the natural capital these ecosystems provide.
David is now further extending his research by combining the hedge data with economic data such as yields and farm profits to better understand their role in the farm economy.
