12-02-2014, 11:36 AM
I was very interested in coppicing here a number of years ago. There are reportedly trees that have been continually coppiced for 1000 years. I recently came across this reference to something similar re Blean woods in SE England: "Some of the beech coppice is believed to be 700 years old. "
Coppicing starts with cutting a tree of about 6" diameter off a short distance above the root crown. This is called a "stool". The tree forms a callous over the cut and eventually barks over there and remains viable. Meanwhile side shoots come out near the crown because the roots are still producing as much nutrients as once supported the entire tree. and they grow at a very high rate and become poles which are relatively straight and branch free for a long length. It's the straight poles that are valuable for older fencing and building purposes. But now they are also of interest as easily chipped biofuel. The biomass production rate of a coppice wood is generally considered to be much higher than a conventional forest.
Coppice woods by themselves can become vulnerable to pests, and also particularly deer, since they essentially consist of mast -- deer food. They can also discourage natural habitat variety. Instead of a solid coppice wood, it was realized early on that there are advantages in alternating tracts of coppice and conventional woodland. These seem to result in the best of both worlds -- lumber and alternating habitat for plats and animals, reduced losses, and availability of coppice products.
Coppicing starts with cutting a tree of about 6" diameter off a short distance above the root crown. This is called a "stool". The tree forms a callous over the cut and eventually barks over there and remains viable. Meanwhile side shoots come out near the crown because the roots are still producing as much nutrients as once supported the entire tree. and they grow at a very high rate and become poles which are relatively straight and branch free for a long length. It's the straight poles that are valuable for older fencing and building purposes. But now they are also of interest as easily chipped biofuel. The biomass production rate of a coppice wood is generally considered to be much higher than a conventional forest.
Coppice woods by themselves can become vulnerable to pests, and also particularly deer, since they essentially consist of mast -- deer food. They can also discourage natural habitat variety. Instead of a solid coppice wood, it was realized early on that there are advantages in alternating tracts of coppice and conventional woodland. These seem to result in the best of both worlds -- lumber and alternating habitat for plats and animals, reduced losses, and availability of coppice products.