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What is coppicing? 'Coppice comes from the French word 'Couper' to cut. At its simplest, coppicing is merely the cutting back of any tree or shrub with the idea of letting it grow again to provide a fresh crop of wood which can be cut once more, renewing the cycle. Coppicing then, takes advantage of the fact that most broad leafed trees will re-grow if cut down, providing a renewable, self-sustaining resource. In fact for most species coppicing actually prolongs the life of the trees. 
To provide a continuous supply of wood a coppice system would be felled on a rotation. A small area (coupe, panel or fell) would be cut and next year the woodsman would move to a different part of the wood. Eventually he would work back to the original patch after anything between 7 to 30 years, depending upon the coppice species. In a simple coppice all the trees and shrubs would be cut. A variation on the theme the "coppice with standards" system required that the occasional tree would be left to grow on to maturity. These "standards", most commonly oak but sometimes ash or other trees, would be cut on a far longer rotation of 50 years or more. Thus a wood could supply two requirements; a continuous supply of smaller material from the "under wood" and a source of large timber. The latter could be saved for that special building project you had in mind or even serve as a reserve of capital for emergencies. Incidentally, this distinction between "wood" the produce of the coppiced under wood, and "timber" the product of the standard trees, was in medieval times a vital one, even though it has fallen into misuse these days. What was the wood used for? Firewood was one of the most important uses for coppice products as nothing would be wasted and even the smallest twigs could be bundled into faggots to be burnt. 
The production of charcoal was a development of the industrial revolution to heat furnaces and is still made today for the flourishing BBQ market. Fencing in one form or another, whether it be the weaving of hurdles from hazel or the production of fencing stakes. Wattle, for the wattle and daub of timber framed buildings was a further destination for coppice products. Locally, the tanning industry supported vast areas of oak coppice, cut solely for its bark for use in the tanning of leather. Added to these were a host of minor, more specialised uses, such as thatching spars or hop poles, which often encouraged small, local coppice "industries" to flourish. Coppice history That coppicing is an ancient practice there can be little doubt. The Sweet Track in Somerset, dated at roughly 4000 BC, contains recognisable coppice wood, evidence of the coppicing of oak, ash and hazel. By medieval times the coppice system was already a long established form of woodland management and an integral part of the social background of the times. The decline of coppicing was due to a complex of social and political factors; the rise in labour costs, introduction of cheap coal and the lack of modernisation and organisation in woodmanship. As time went on coppice rotations tended to lengthen and became more strictly adhered to, whilst recent centuries saw an increasing regularity in the shape of coppice panels. All symptoms of a decreasing flexibility, once inherent in coppice management, and overall lack of interest. The retreat began in the north and even today the few woods still managed as coppice are found in the south and east. With few exceptions, such as the coppicing of sweet chestnut for chestnut paling, coppicing is now no longer commercially viable. The recent slight revival is mainly due to conservation interests - preceding any organised, economic use as yet. The major threats to coppice continue to be coniferisation and agriculture. To the forester or farmer a coppice is simply waste, something to be converted to arable land or under planted with conifers. Equally destructive is simple neglect, though a coppice wood can be restored even after 100 years without having been touched. So why do we coppice? The medieval woodsman would perhaps have known and appreciated the wildlife associated with coppice woods more intimately than we can ever hope to do. For him, however, coppicing was a way of making a living, it produced a product that was useful to society, above all a product that could be sold. Yet to the conservationist, it is the wildlife "spin off", the rich flora and fauna, that is the main reason for maintaining a frankly uneconomic and labour intensive process today. Coppicing gives a wood an immense variety of structure, encouraging species once restricted to rides or the wood edge. All stages in growth are present from the newly felled area to the closed canopy of young trees. The recently cut panel mimics a woodland glade, the sudden increase in light promoting a flush of woodland flowers, bluebell, wood anemone, primrose and violets, all important for a great many insects. As the shrubs grow, other species move in; nightingales prefer 4 to 9 year old re-growth and a high density of essentially scrub-breeding birds such as whitethroat, blackcap and garden warbler can be maintained. 
This is the key to its richness; within the space of one small woodland coppice management can provide something to suit all tastes. |
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