Orchard wildlife
Orchards are very good for wildlife, but some are better than others. You can take action to manage your orchard for the benefit of wildlife, as well as being a source of fruits to eat and a place to enjoy.
The worst orchards for wildlife and biodiversity generally are modern commercial ones, where the trees are densely planted, and contain just one or two different varieties grafted on short- lived dwarf rootstocks. These tend to be intensively managed using lots of chemical inputs.
At the top of the biodiversity league are the much more lightly managed traditional types of orchard, where widely spaced and longer-lived trees on half standard or standard rootstocks grow in unimproved grassland and contain a range of fruit species and varieties. In 2007 this significant difference was formally recognized when traditional orchards were designated a Priority UK Biodiversity Habitat by the UK Government.
Traditional-style orchards are biodiversity-rich environments because their fruit trees share many of the same physical characteristics as found in older native woodland trees. For example, a fruit tree that is fifty years old will probably have already developed fissured bark, rot holes from pruning wounds and some dead wood, all of which create ideal food sources and habitats for other wildlife to use, such as mosses and lichens, fungi, and numerous species of mammals, insects and birds. It is against the law to damage or destroy the breeding or nesting sites of several rare and endangered animals which inhabit these types of orchard, including bats, several species of beetle, some bird species and great crested newts.
Older orchards may also contain rare fruits, possibly locally raised rarities, so this also makes them scientifically valuable. Surveys undertaken by EEAOP in Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire have shown that traditional orchards are gradually disappearing from the landscape due to redevelopment for housing and industry, replacement with arable crops and by abandonment and neglect. Owners of traditional orchards need to be aware of their responsibilities as guardians of these valuable habitats, and how best to manage them for fruit production and biodiversity. Helpful, free advisory management notes are available from Natural England. www.naturalengland.org.uk
We offer practical training in pruning old fruit trees – visit our Learn More page to view our latest workshops programme. In addition to the half-standard sized trees, we also encourage the planting of traditional orchards and so propagate trees on larger rootstocks to order, so future generations of wildlife and people can continue to benefit from this complex habitat.
Making your orchard wildlife friendly
Don’t use chemical sprays. Keeping your trees well fed and watered will make them healthier and more resistant to pests. Severe aphid attack can be treated with soft soap spray or garlic spray, which will keep many pests from attacking your fruit trees.
- Make sure there are rough areas for wildlife to shelter in. A patch of nettles and garlic mustard in full sun provides egg-laying sites for a range of butterflies.
- Make insect hotels for bees, beetles and other pollinators
- Put up bat and bird boxes (not on the fruit trees)
- Hang pheromone traps in the trees to catch codlin moth and plum fruit moth.
- Manage the grass between the trees so that there are areas of different lengths to provide a range of habitats