What are the benefits of coppicing?

Coppice systems (without standards) have the benefit of minimal soil damage during harvest, a reduced need for weed management, physical protection of the site, negligible risk of windthrow and where markets for the product exist, a cash return for the landowner.

What is coppiced woodland?

What is coppice? Coppice is woodland where the trees are cut periodically, and are left to regrow from the cut stumps, known as stools often producing multiple stems. The word coppice is derived from the French ‘couper’, meaning to cut.

What is coppicing in forestry?

Coppicing is a method of cutting trees to ground level, leading to a strong vegetative response and the regeneration of new shoots from the base. Coppiced trees have a fully developed root system so that regrowth is rapid and the wood from the new stems may be harvested in short intervals of 2–10 years.

Should woodland be managed?

Active management of woodlands will ensure a wide range of species, genetic diversity and age structure; the main elements essential to ensure resilience. Ensuring owners/managers are engaged in management also helps in combating the spread of pests and pathogens.

Why is coppicing good for biodiversity?

Coppicing is a good way to ensure that there are a variety of different light levels in a woodland. This allows plants with very different light requirements to grow within the same general area. Coppicing will often improve butterfly diversity in a woodland as a side effect of the improvement in plant diversity.

What is the process of coppicing?

Coppicing. Coppicing is the process of cutting trees down, allowing the stumps to regenerate for a number of years (usually 7 – 25) and then harvesting the resulting stems. Cut such trees down and they will regenerate from the cut stump, producing many new shoots, rather than a single main stem.

Is coppicing sustainable?

Coppicing is a sustainable forestry technique that uses nature’s capacity for regeneration to continually harvest wood from a living tree. Many hardwood trees will attempt to regrow after being cut down.

What is a managed woodland?

Woodlands are actively managed for a number of reasons. These include maximizing the yield of economically important products such as timber and game, as well as for conservation and biodiversity. Recreational access is also becoming increasingly important. A woodland may be managed for one or more of these reasons.

When should you stop coppicing?

Avoid coppicing very long continuous lengths of hedgerow in any one year as this will result in a dramatic loss of habitat. Coppicing involves cutting the main stem as close to the ground as possible.

Why do we manage woodland?

They absorb noise, pollution and carbon dioxide, they release oxygen, screen buildings, reduce flooding and provide a source of sustainable livelihoods and timber. By managing woodlands sustainably we are nurturing a habitat that is brilliant for both wildlife and people.

When should you start coppicing?

Harvesting coppice Cutting should be done during the dormant season; October to March. Often billhooks are used, but you can also use a bow saw or a pruning saw and loppers. Ideally cut 1-2 inches above where the stem grows out of the stool, with the cut angled slightly sloping away from the centre of the stool.

What is coppicing and how does it work?

Coppicing is the woodland management technique of repeatedly felling trees at the base (or stool), and allowing them to regrow, in order to provide a sustainable supply of timber.

What is the effect of coppicing in a woodland?

In this way, a crop is available each year somewhere in the woodland. Coppicing has the effect of providing a rich variety of habitats, as the woodland always has a range of different-aged coppice growing in it, which is beneficial for biodiversity.

What is the difference between coppicing and pollarding a tree?

In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level, resulting in a stool. New growth emerges and after a number of years, the coppiced tree is harvested and the cycle begins anew. Pollarding is a similar process carried out at a higher level on the tree.

What are the benefits of coppicing trees?

Trees naturally retrench (shedding their branches to extend their lifespan) and coppicing can be an excellent way of simulating this to increase the life of the tree. It also increases woodland biodiversity, as greater amounts of light can reach the ground, allowing other species to grow there.