c Coppicing - Katherine O'Brien
For hundreds of years, coppicing was an effective traditional British method used in sustainable wood production. Coppicing produces slender stems which are ideal for weaving. These stems were used to make products such as baskets, fencing, or hurdles.
Coppicing hazel - Paul Harris/2020VISION
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Coppicing occurs during the dormant season, generally late September to early March.
The process involves cutting the tree close to the ground on a regular cycle to encourage regrowth from dormant buds at the base of the stool (tree stump).
This regrowth creates fast growing stands of dense multi-stemmed trees. Where trees have been coppiced previously the next cut needs to be as close as possible to the previous cut.
To an onlooker coppicing must seem like a brutal process. An area which once held stands of trees suddenly is felled leaving what seems like a barren landscape behind. However, that is not the case. Think of a woodland as basic level system, where the first level consists of ground flowers, the second being the understorey shrub layer, and the top layer being the canopy. Those three levels are competing against each other for light and the ground flowers are usually at the bottom of the pecking order in certain woodlands.
By coppicing different areas of a woodland (called coupes) light is allowed to stream back onto the woodland floor. Come springtime, a carpet of flowers that lay dormant now has chance to bloom. These woodland flowers will continue to bloom for the next few years and then the second level of understorey scrub takes over – usually bramble. Bramble is not a plant to be branded as just an untidy mess – it creates a dense cover which provides perfect shelter and nesting spots. Bramble also has a long flowering and fruiting season providing food for native wildlife.
Bumble bee feeding on brambles - Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION
The coppiced plants usually take at least 5-6 years to grow back to the stage they can be coppiced again. Coupes are cut in rotation so there are always multiple levels of varying ages in the woodland.
Most native trees can be coppiced – one species is hazel, which we still use at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to create the stakes used in hedge laying. Another species regularly coppiced is willow – used by our inspiring people team to weave various objects – such as wreaths for Christmas.
The end result in modern day coppicing is a well-managed woodland which is more diverse for our native wildlife.
