This image shows a field of coppiced willow trees being grown in England as an energy crop. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert!
Coppicing is a traditional woodland management technique that dates back to the Stone Age. It involves felling trees at their base to create a ‘stool’ where new shoots will grow. You can recognise a coppiced tree by the many thin trunks or ‘poles’ at its base. Some common and reliable coppicing trees include oak, ash, hazel, sweet chestnut, sycamore, willow, most alder species, and lime.
coppiced tree, The yew, monkey puzzle, and coast redwood can be coppiced despite being conifers. Coppice, a dense grove of small trees or shrubs that have grown from suckers or sprouts rather than from seed. A coppiced plant sends up new shoots, often of similar sizes, that can then be harvested repeatedly for fuel, fencing, weaving, basketry, or other uses. Coppiced trees can live for many years and the coppice cycle continues until the tree is cut back to ground level. The aim of coppicing is to achieve a well-formed standard which will produce lots of strong, straight stems when it regrows.
coppiced tree, Coppicing / ˈkɒpɪsɪŋ / is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a stump, which in many species encourages new shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. Coppicing is a sustainable forestry technique that uses nature’s capacity for regeneration to continually harvest wood from a living tree. Many hardwood trees will attempt to regrow after being cut down. Coppicing is pruning suitable trees or shrubs back to the ground. Historically, coppicing was a traditional woodland management technique, but it can be used beneficially in a garden. Cutting stems down to the ground encourages the plants to respond through the growth of vigorous new stems.
