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Coppice Management
Introduction.
The term "coppice" derives from the french verb "couper" (to cut) and is essentially a form of aggressive pruning.
Coppicing is simply the process of cutting back Hazel, or any other hardwood tree, to a low stump on a regular basis: to provide a supply of wood (timber is obtained from full-sized trees).
Softwood species, mainly conifers, do not regrow from cut stumps. This is because conifers, unlike most hardwood trees, do not store food reserves. Instead they rely on excess food being produced by their mature needles in spring to support new growth: no mature needles, no growth. We have some Pines and Spruces as winter cover for birds, etc. Several of these have been blown down in winter storms and I have had to make a clean "coppice" cut at the base to remove the fallen tree. All have died subsequently.
Coppicing is possible because many broadleaved trees produce far more buds than they need for normal growth. These surplus buds are maintained in a dormant state (stored or epicormic). Other "adventitious" buds can also grow on scar tissue as an insurance policy against damage to their trunk or branches.
These buds are normally suppressed by hormones produced by the buds at the tip of the main stem and branches. When these growing points are removed the dormant buds are released and adventitious buds are stimulated.
New coppice regrowth tends to have a longer growing season than that of standard trees. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, hardwood species store most of their food reserves in the roots and at the base of the trunk; secondly, a large amount of energy has to go into supporting older growth through respiration. The removal of some or all of the older growth frees the coppiced tree to concentrate entirely on the new shoots.
Provided that their roots are not damaged and no infection gets into the felling wound, hardwood trees can be cut repeatedly: providing a regular supply of wood.
Methods
Over the past ten years, I have experimented with three types of coppice management with varying degrees of success. Although this section deals primarily with Hazel (Corylus avellana) I have applied the principles to our other broadleaved species.
The three techniques are:
Conclusions
I have found that the tradional method of clear-cutting coppice stools at the ground is not suited to a new plantation on an ex-arable site. The best Hazel regrowth seems to develop from an intimate mixture of standard trees and partial cutting of coppice stools.