Hedges are necessary for the preservation of plant and animal species.
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S.ORTOLA / 20MINUTES
France will plant 7,000 kilometers of hedges on its territory by the end of 2022. This program was unveiled as part of the One Planet Summit, an international gathering around the theme of biodiversity organized this Monday in L ' Elysium.
It will benefit from a budget of 50 million euros, indicates
Le Parisien
.
The objective is to allow the fauna and flora to benefit from the advantages of this particular vegetation.
Each kilometer of hedge will in fact prevent the release of 2 tonnes of CO2 each year.
These barriers can limit or even prevent flooding and landslides in heavy rains.
In periods of heat wave, the shade they cast protects the plants that grow there and the animals that take shelter there from drought.
These bars of ash, alder, rose hips or hawthorn provide a variety of plant species.
They protect the diversity of species
This type of vegetation is also a guarantee of animal diversity.
Before more than two-thirds of French hedges were uprooted during agricultural land consolidation in the 1960s, they served as shelter, habitat and travel path for many species.
Since the disappearance of these plantations, a decrease in the population of insects, including butterflies, hedgehogs and birds has been observed.
"The number of chickadees or goldfinches is dropping at a phenomenal rate", laments the president of France Nature Environment (FNE).
The latter believes that hedges provide "innumerable environmental services".
The decision to remove a large majority had however been taken for reasons of agricultural output.
These plant limitations strategically placed by farmers were accused of "losing productivity because of their shade", says the leader of FNE.
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