A dead hedge is a barrier constructed from cut branches, saplings, and foliage. The material can be from pruning, clearing, or forestry activities. Their succession is a beetle bank or hedge.
Dead hedges are useful in habitat conservation and restoration ecology, as they offer shelter for small animals, especially birds. This can be part of a beneficial "biological pest agents" habitat in biological pest control programs for natural landscapes and organic gardening.
Dead hedges usually provide an enclosure for the storage of livestock. The above biological pest control dead hedges use is also part of organic farming and sustainable agriculture.
Dead hedges also recycle-reuse biomass without energy use to transport to landfills, or by burning, reducing a carbon footprint impact.