FENCE

Fence: comprises the following.

Sheep wire fence: wire mesh between wooden posts often with a strand of barbed wire above.
Wood post and wire fence: several strands of usually barbed wire between wooden posts.
Other fence: all other fences including wire fences strung between concrete or metal posts and wood post fences with a wooden rail.

Fences are recorded as a separate field boundary type only if not associated with any of the other field boundary types such as a Hedge, Dry stone wall or Earth bank.
 

Habitat examples: Click on an image to enlarge.
Fence: distribution in NI.
There are 4.1 km/km2 (55,130 km) of Fences in NI. They occurr in both lowland (4.3 km/km2) and upland (3.7 km/km2) landscapes. The Mourne AONB has the lowest density (2.2 km/km2).
Fence: predicted distribution map (1998).
Fence: net change 1991 - 1998.
There was a significant net increase in Fences of 8% (3,950 km) in NI as a whole. It occurred especially in upland landscapes (13%, 1,833 km).
Fence: summary of losses and gains 1991 - 1998.

Fence: losses and gains 1991 - 1998.
Gains of Fences were mainly by erecting them where previously there was no field boundary. Field Boundaries in the losses and gains table below are linked to their descriptors and NI data.
 
Losses
(1991 - 98)		 Field
Boundaries		 Gains
(1991 - 98)
km % km %
1298 3 *     Hedge 1596 1 *
36 <1 *     Dry stone wall 36 <1 *
94 <1 *     Mortared wall 56 3 *
0         Ruined dry stone wall 89 2 *
19 <1       Earth bank 924 2 *
5470 11 *     No Field Boundary 8181 - *
Note :   % = percentage of baseline length
             * = indicates significant transition (p = 0.05)
 
BACK - to FIELD BOUNDARIES