Coppicing advice

[deadtomorrow]

Hello everyone!
Excited to join the community

We recently took on a small plot of land which has a woodland (just under and acre) planted up about 12 years ago. It has never been coppiced and it feels that now is a good time to start coppicing some areas.

I was advised by an experienced coppice manager to divide the plot up into areas, cutting down chunks of the woodland to allow light in to encourage the new growth, which makes sense. So that is what I am planning to start doing this week, taking down an area of the woodland, repeating this each year working my way through the whole woodland.

I'm nervous about being the first to cut down parts of this young woodland and although I'm fairly experienced with trees individually and that this should work, I thought I would check in here to see that this approach is right.

A chunk of the area is birch, and I know I'm getting late in winter to be cutting them due to the sap rising, but we're high up on an exposed hill and our winter is usually a month later than most of southern UK, making me think this should be OK. Otherwise, it's a mix of trees.

I was advised also to pollard rather than coppice because of rabbits and deer, but we have a deer fence and I kinda feel this could lead to unstable trees in such an exposed spot?

The other thing is that the wood is planted close together, about 1 - 1.5 m between trees and they've all grown successfully. I read that trees are better more like 2 - 3m apart so wondered if I need to thin... though I'm guessing that will happen naturally if some don't successfully regrow.

Anyway I look forward to chatting about it and sharing my experiences as we go.

 

[SoldierPalmer]

My personal choice with birch is to leave it as a more ornamental tree. The mature wood is great for burning and carving. You can coppice it and it does respond well when it’s young. Them spacing sound very close. My hard woods (not for commercial use) are planted at 3.5m definitely no closer than 3m. The trees will naturally thin out when a canopy starts to develop. I would hand select the weaker trees and thin them out as it could impact your later crop with the tight spacing.

 

[Broch]

Mmm... why do you want a coppice wood? Birch isn't the ideal coppice and a birch woodland is a beautiful environment with plenty of light getting through to the woodland floor. I would consider taking out a few trees (thinning) to get the best mixture.

There's over-emphasis (or was) on opening up woodland; you really need to define what you want that woodland to look like in 50 years time and manage towards it but I wouldn't start with Birch if I wanted a coppice woodland. Sorry.

 

[Tengu]

Coppicing/Pollarding/Snelling lengthens the life of a tree doesnt it?

Or, since Birch is infamous for its fungi, would that encourage infection?

 

[deadtomorrow]

It's been planted specifically as a productive coppice for fire wood, the whole coppice is mixed wood including some birch. I don't want to leave it because it's surrounded by mature woodland and I'd like to maintain a variety of habitats for wildlife. I guess it sounds like if it's not suitable, I'll gradually cut all the birch out and start replacing with alternative species - though I'd read a lot that birch is good for coppicing.

 

[grizzlyj]

I planted a load of willow to produce short term firewood while mostly alder catches up.
The centres for those were suggested to be 1m one way and 1.5m the other to push the harvest wood up straight. Too far apart and it'll wiggle. Pollarded for rabbits. I cut every one off after year one, in that years growth, to force them to push roots out before getting too top heavy, but they are shrubs not trees. Year one lost about 5% to wind, year two less, nutter wind two weeks ago lost 7.

 

[swyn]

As birch is a pioneer and you have a good number by all means thin around the other more long term species but go steady as you need both the birch and the other species to work themselves up towards the light and not tiller too early. Then you can thin for increment of your firewood and possibly a final timber crop. Never underestimate the value of a good knot free timber tree whatever the species. Even if there is no mill localy and you haven't the gear to haul sticks you can chain saw mill and reap the timber benefits for you and for your grand children if you can keep them growing nicely.
IMO birch is sh1t for coppicing, it won't coppice! It is good as quick-grow firewood or as a nurse for a slower growing crop.
Hopefully you are in an area which is squirrel free? Then you can grow something worthwhile else you are in for a long, long battle! Perhaps the new thoughts on birth control will help but I'm out of this malarky so can't offer anything more here.
S

 

[Broch]

It's been planted specifically as a productive coppice for fire wood, the whole coppice is mixed wood including some birch. I don't want to leave it because it's surrounded by mature woodland and I'd like to maintain a variety of habitats for wildlife. I guess it sounds like if it's not suitable, I'll gradually cut all the birch out and start replacing with alternative species - though I'd read a lot that birch is good for coppicing.

Ah, that makes a bit more sense.

Birch will coppice but it wouldn't be my first choice. It depends what the other mature woodland is. If it's not Birch then a mature Birch wood would be a different habitat anyway. Mixed mature Birch with other hard wood coppice would be good.

There's no rush; take a couple down close to ground level, see how well they sprout and make your decision from that. I probably wouldn't start before November now though - I can still coppice hazel for another couple of weeks but the sap is running in my birches. However, if you need to thin a few out - go ahead

On a broader topic, you might be interested in some of the discussion here:

Woodland Custodianship

There are a number of us that are fortunate enough to own or have responsibility for small woodlands, and, I suspect, even more of us that would aspire to. So based on the conversations in other threads I thought it might be useful to start a thread where we can discuss some of the delights...

bushcraftuk.com

 

[swyn]

Coppicing/Pollarding/Snelling lengthens the life of a tree doesnt it?

Or, since Birch is infamous for its fungi, would that encourage infection?

Coppicing is felling a tree at ground level and allowing the remaining stump to re-grow sprouts for future harvesting. Hazel is the classic here but Sequoia will coppice! Not that I know of any use for sequoia coppice but hazel is a thatchers favorite with continuous coppicing focussed on this marked for 'staples' and other thatching requirements. Some trees will coppice very nicely, others will not. Ash is another, particularly in the past for animal fodder.
Pollarding is cutting off the main, higher up, branches of a more mature tree for fodder or amenity and effect. French cities are full of pollarded trees. Pom-poms on sticks in an avenue look fab!
Both these methods could certainly prolong the life of of a tree.
Snelling. Perhaps Tengu you are thinking of 'snedding' which is removing the branches of a felled stick, usually a softwood like spruce or douglas to present the timber to be handled and collected by a forwarder and taken to a loading bay for haulage to a sawmill. Hardwood snedding is just the same.
A 'harvester' will do this as it fells the tree and then with the knives built into the harvesting head cut all the protruding branches off as it runs the trunk through. There's an art to snedding if you are a hand cutter and the experts make it look really easy!
In the pic the machine has snedded this piece of timber. The main knife is in the foreground. The tree is a western red cedar which has a good market right now as architects want timber cladding on their designs and this is a light, durable and handsome species.
There's 'pruning' which is removing the branches of a living tree to enhance its value in the future. Add to this 'high pruning' which is another job in a stand of trees to enhance future value after they have been pruned, and possibly thinned, and then allowed to grow for a few more years.
S

 

[Le Loup]

Hello everyone!
Excited to join the community

We recently took on a small plot of land which has a woodland (just under and acre) planted up about 12 years ago. It has never been coppiced and it feels that now is a good time to start coppicing some areas.

I was advised by an experienced coppice manager to divide the plot up into areas, cutting down chunks of the woodland to allow light in to encourage the new growth, which makes sense. So that is what I am planning to start doing this week, taking down an area of the woodland, repeating this each year working my way through the whole woodland.

I'm nervous about being the first to cut down parts of this young woodland and although I'm fairly experienced with trees individually and that this should work, I thought I would check in here to see that this approach is right.

A chunk of the area is birch, and I know I'm getting late in winter to be cutting them due to the sap rising, but we're high up on an exposed hill and our winter is usually a month later than most of southern UK, making me think this should be OK. Otherwise, it's a mix of trees.

I was advised also to pollard rather than coppice because of rabbits and deer, but we have a deer fence and I kinda feel this could lead to unstable trees in such an exposed spot?

The other thing is that the wood is planted close together, about 1 - 1.5 m between trees and they've all grown successfully. I read that trees are better more like 2 - 3m apart so wondered if I need to thin... though I'm guessing that will happen naturally if some don't successfully regrow.

Anyway I look forward to chatting about it and sharing my experiences as we go.

I have only coppiced just enough area to supply us with garden poles, tool handles & stails DT. This is not a large area. I will also cut a tree if I can see it is struggling & the top is already dead. I think seeing as you only have a small woodland, I would check out the health of the trees first. If you don't have many, fine, then choose a small area to coppice.
Keith.

 

[gra_farmer]

FARMING AND WILDLIFE ADVISORY GROUP used to do a whole technical guidance documents....i know as I used to write some of them, but this is the best online resource available at the moment, I'll keep looking...the silly part is that I have just thrown all the hard copies out, and I had a number of the coppicing guides

Field Boundary Technical Factsheets from FWAG - Contents

 

[Nice65]

Birch is a short lived first responder in creating woodland. It grows fast, seeds prolifically and quickly protects ground for longer lived species to grow. It makes good firewood but burns fast and bright, and I can honestly say I’ve never heard of it being used as coppice. Here, we have Chestnut and Hazel as main coppice woods for strong and straight poles. Some Ash amongst that too, but more by accident than intention.

What other tree species are around your Birch patch?

Also, and just as interest really, I read somewhere a Norwegian method for getting the sap out of the tree is to fell it on the early morning of a hot and sunny day and leave it uncut for the leaves to suck the water out.

 

[Broch]

but this is the best online resource available at the moment,

Sadly, these have not been maintained to my knowledge. The last publications were 2004 and a whole lot has changed especially on habitat management.

The problem seems to be that the responsibility of advising on land management in general is split between organisations and some have completely different objectives.

 

[gra_farmer]

Sadly, these have not been maintained to my knowledge. The last publications were 2004 and a whole lot has changed especially on habitat management.

The problem seems to be that the responsibility of advising on land management in general is split between organisations and some have completely different objectives.

I left FWAG in 2007, and cannot honestly say when these were last updated, but they were updated before I left. Where the most recent versions are, I will have to ask.

Your correct, organisations that publish guidelines, often have there own agenda. FWAG and the former BCTV were writing unbiased information.

 

[deadtomorrow]

Ah, that makes a bit more sense.

Birch will coppice but it wouldn't be my first choice. It depends what the other mature woodland is. If it's not Birch then a mature Birch wood would be a different habitat anyway. Mixed mature Birch with other hard wood coppice would be good.

There's no rush; take a couple down close to ground level, see how well they sprout and make your decision from that. I probably wouldn't start before November now though - I can still coppice hazel for another couple of weeks but the sap is running in my birches. However, if you need to thin a few out - go ahead

On a broader topic, you might be interested in some of the discussion here:

Woodland Custodianship

There are a number of us that are fortunate enough to own or have responsibility for small woodlands, and, I suspect, even more of us that would aspire to. So based on the conversations in other threads I thought it might be useful to start a thread where we can discuss some of the delights...

bushcraftuk.com

Interesting, thank you and to everyone else who has replied. It seems it's a more complicated topic than I thought. I'll do a few little experiments now and then continue next year depending on how that goes.

We have a small hazel coppice in another area with young-ish hazel I think is ready to start coppicing properly. I plan to cut some of these this year for bean poles and pea sticks, and then work through them slowly in future years.

In the main coppice, we have a good mix of oak, beech, birch, rowan and ash among other species. Though the ask is all largely dying back now sadly.

Thank you for the other link, I will have a look at that and start doing some more reading up