![]() There are many areas of the UK where hazel and hornbeam have been grown, but the Midlands and Devon still have much hazel woodland useful for the remaining thatchers. Although it is said that the Romans introduced it, there is some evidence that coppicing was practised in England in Neolithic times. Historically chestnut coppice growing has been strongest in the south East of England, especially Kent and East Sussex. Chestnut has traditionally been used for fencing whereas hazel is more likely to have been used for thatching, hedge-laying spars and hurdle making. In the UK the main trees that are coppiced are sweet chestnut, hazel and hornbeam. Some even make hurdles for keeping sheep in pens.Īn approximate guide the diameter of felled coppice for further processing is: In many cases the coppicer will process further and create spiles (stakes or strong fencing posts), or will split the chestnut into various sizes for fencing. Once cut, the poles produced are usually processed to some extent in the woodland: they are often cut to length, and perhaps de-barked. Always leave a fire in a safe condition when leaving the woodland.Make sure you are working upwind of any campfire.Fell away from the wind and fell all the poles in one direction.In some cases it maybe necessary to make a first cut higher and then trim back as above.That cut should be angled some 15 to 20 degrees from horizontal with the lowest point facing outwards from the centre of the stool. Ideally one cut should be made about 1-2 inches above where the branch grows out of the stool. Progressively cut each stem starting with the most accessible sections and working in to the centre of the stool.Cut and clear away any dead or dying stems.Clear out all leaves and other debris around the base of the stool.In turn, these buds develop into sprouts or shoots, capable of growing firewood in just a few years, instead of the decades it takes to grow a tree from a seed. The basic procedure for coppicing chestnut is as follows: Coppicing is a reproduction method where a tree is cut back periodically to stimulate new growth through dormant buds on the stump, or stool. The best time to coppice chestnut is well after the autumn leaf fall when the sap has gone down, and certainly well before the sap rises in the spring. If the coppice cycle is managed correctly it can increase biodiversity in the woodland because of the beneficial effects of varying light levels reaching the woodland floor, and the range of different aged trees and stools in the woodland. This periodic coppicing encourages the individual trees to live for up to hundreds of years. When an area of coppice is cut, it is all cut down, and creates a clearing. This technique is different from pollarding, in which branches are cut at, or above, head height, leaving the possibility of grazing underneath the growing branches.Ĭoppicing is done on rotation: small areas of a woodland are cut each year in sequence leaving the areas not being cut to grow on for between 15 and 20 years for chestnut, and about 7 years for hazel. It subsequently regrows over a period of years without needing to be replanted. The next time you notice that tree you cut down start to grow back stronger than ever don’t let it get you down, use it to your benefit.Coppicing is a woodland management method in which the wood from a tree is harvested by cutting a suitable tree near ground level. The two most straightforward of the trials will involve large-scale planting of trees and bioenergy crops, including Miscanthus grasses and coppice willow. Pollarding: two rows of pollarded willow trees Stock Photo. Today, coppicing is used for timber production, firewood, furniture, traditional and woven fencing, tool handles, brooms, bean poles, baskets and young leaf growth for feeding livestock. Coppiced trees in Nato Nature Trail, Aland, Finland Stock Photo. Because coppicing keeps a tree in a juvenile state, cutting may actually help it live a much longer life. Wooded areas are broken up into sections, or coupes, and cut down in rotations anywhere between 10 to 25 years. When a tree is cut to the ground it creates a stump, or stool, from which dormant buds come to life to form new growth, multiplying in the number of stems. Extensive woodlands, often a single species, are grown and managed specifically for the production of new wood. Coppicing is a method of tree management based on the regeneration of new shoots, or suckers, of wood when a tree is cut to the ground.Ĭoppicing dates back as far as 1251 and was widely used in the 18th and 19th century to produce wood for industrial charcoal for ironworkers. Have you ever cut down a tree just to have it grow back, even multiply? Well, you may just be that trees best friend.
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