Woodland management - the use of coppicing in the supply of sustainable materials from ancient and new woodlands

Woodland management and the use of coppicing

Woodland management has for centuries relied on the practice of coppicing to provide for the supply of sustainable materials.

The practice of coppicing in woodland management, which can be defined as "the art of cutting of trees and shrubs to ground level to allow vigorous regrowth that produces a sustainable supply of timber for future generations". Trees and shrubs that are cut down this way can produce shoots that grow over 30cm in a week and a coppiced tree can live many times longer than if the the tree had not been cut down at all.

The practice of coppicing in woodland management is equally important as a management technique in new woodlands as well as those of ancient woodland. Young broadleaved trees that may have become stunted in early growth can become invigorated simply by cutting to ground level. Thus a young tree that may have been growing at perhaps 20 cm a year is transformed into a vigorous stool with annual growth in the early years exceeding 1.5 metres.