Hazel is usually cut every 7 - 10 years, sweet chestnut usually at about 15 years (except where it is cut as young as 3 years to make walking sticks) and slower-growing species such as Hornbeam are cut every 25 - 35 years. The interval between cuts (the rotation length) depends on the species and the intended product. The regrowth from the cut stools can be remarkably fast and it is quite normal for many species to reach two metres after their first year. Within a single wood, coppicing usually gives rise to an irregular patchwork of woodland with trees (ranging in size from a half to three hectares) at different stages of growth. In an actively coppiced wood, an area of the underwood is cut each winter between October and March, before the sap starts to rise in response to the onset of spring. Standard trees are usually oak but ash is also common. Occasionally woods consist purely of underwood and these are termed 'simple coppice'. Traditionally, coppice was grown as a wood containing coppiced trees (underwood) and scattered timber trees (standards). Today Sweet Chestnut has largely taken over from Hornbeam as it is more economically viable as a crop because it grows more quickly and therefore can be cut more regularly ie at shorter intervals. Although most native hardwood trees in Britain such as oak, ash, willow and birch will coppice freely, those coppiced in the High Weald are Hornbeam, Hazel and Sweet Chestnut. It is a highly sustainable method of producing rapidly growing useful wood without the need to replant. The word coppice is derived from the French 'couper', meaning to cut. Many species that depend upon this valuable habitat have suffered as a result.Ĭoppice is woodland where the trees are cut periodically, and are left to regrow from the cut stumps, known as stools often producing multiple stems.
In the past coppice has been an important renewable source of wood but as timber extraction has become more industrialized and competition from sources abroad has grown, coppice woodland has become less economic to manage and has been left to become derelict or has been replaced by conifer woodland. Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme.
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