8/4/2023 0 Comments Hazel coppice![]() ![]() The succulent young shoots from the coppice stools attract browsing deer. Dormice spend most of their lives in branches and foliage and require a continuous canopy of coppice and standards, but do not thrive in very old coppice. By the third year the small mammal population will probably be at a peak before decreasing gradually until the cycle is repeated.Ĭoppiced woodland in south and west England is one of the most important habitats of the common dormouse which needs a high diversity of tree species to provide food throughout the year. Mice, shrews and voles are often the first to appear in recently cut coppice. Small mammals, like birds, are strongly influenced by the coppicing cycle. ![]() Note the well developed low vegetation in the early years of growth (from “Coppiced woodlands: their management for wildlife” by R J Fuller and M S Warren, Second edition, 1993, JNCC) Mammals Large numbers of ground species such as wolf spiders and ground beetles establish a year after cutting followed by numerous and diverse species in years two to five.Ĭhanges in vegetation structure in simple coppice as the vegetation grows. Insects like the warm microclimate and diverse vegetation of young coppice. Species such as the Duke of Burgundy fritillary whose larvae thrives on primrose, and the heath fritillary which needs cow wheat, wood sage or foxglove, have declined because of loss of habitat through neglected woodlands. Usually these plants occur in open sunny areas created by coppicing or along woodland rides. Most butterflies have just one, or a small number of plants which their larvae will feed on and a poor ability to reach new, more suitable habitats. Woodlands support more species of butterfly than any other habitat in the UK. But a few plants, such as dog’s mercury and herb paris prefer the shady conditions of older coppice. This rapidly shades out most of the foliage underneath. More vigorous, light demanding species, such as grasses and brambles do not get a chance to dominate as the coppice canopy closes between five to eight years after cutting. In the second or third year, spring flowers, such as bluebells, oxlips, violets, primroses, wood anemones, ground ivy, yellow archangel and water avens, will carpet the ground. First it stimulates a surge of growth from dormant seed and plants. This produces a sequence of changes in the plant life. When a new coppice panel is cut more light is let into the wood, four times more in spring and up to 20 times more in midsummer. Stylised profile of a piece of southern woodland under traditional coppice management Plants The age that coppice panels are cut depends on the species and what the wood will be used for. The underwood storey can be dominated by one, or contain a mix of species such as hazel, alder, ash, crab apple, field maple, oak, goat willow, small-leaved lime, sweet chestnut and wych elm, beech and hornbeam. A coppice without standards was called a simple coppice. Each compartment would contain an ‘underwood’ which was coppiced, and scattered ‘standards’ or timber trees. Traditionally woods were divided into compartments, called a cant, coupe, panel, fell, sale, burrow or hagg depending on which part of the country the wood was in. Often the oldest trees in our woods are grown from coppice stools and pollarded trees (those cut above cattle and deer grazing height) – some are more than a 1,000 years old. These stools can be coppiced indefinitely to provide a self-renewing source of wood. Regrowth can be very fast, often as much as two metres in a year. This produces numerous shoots or poles rather than one main stem. What is a coppice?Ī coppiced wood is cut periodically, with the trees allowed to regrow from the cut stumps, called stools. Derelict woodlands have little timber value – so the future is optimistic. The market for coppice products is growing – for high quality timber standards and also for traditional goods such as wattle hurdles and turned products. ![]()
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