Coppicing is cutting a broadleaf tree near the ground so that it regrows from the stump, called a stool, and then cutting it again after 3-25 years depending on species. Divide a woodland into sections cut in different years and it supplies firewood every year without replanting, which stops a settlement from stripping its forest.
Part of Coppicing & Fuel Management
The idea of coppicing as a renewable fuel supply: what it is, which trees do it, and how the cycle works.
The Problem It Solves
Without a plan, a settlement burns the nearest trees, then the next nearest, and within a few years the walk to fuel is long and the forest is gone. Coppicing turns the same woodland into a renewable crop. Most broadleaf trees respond to being cut low by sending up several new shoots from the stool, and those shoots grow faster than seedlings because the root system is already established (the parent article puts the difference at 2-5 times).
The Cycle In Four Steps
- Cut the stems low in the dormant season.
- Let the shoots regrow over the rotation, which is 3-25 years depending on the species and the size of wood wanted.
- Cut again, and the cycle repeats from the same stool.
- Stagger the cuts across sections of woodland (“coupes”) so that one section is cut each year.
Details are in the child articles on What Is Coppicing, Species Selection, Rotation Planning, Harvesting & Processing and Fuel Budgeting.
What You Need
- Broadleaf trees that coppice: willow, hazel, alder, ash, oak, hornbeam and others (conifers generally do not regrow from stumps)
- Saws, axes and billhooks kept sharp (Sharpening)
- Fencing against browsing animals where deer, goats or rabbits roam (Fence Types)
- Patience: the first harvest of a new coppice is years away
Common Mistakes
- Cutting everything at once. You get one year of fuel and then none.
- Coppicing conifers. They do not regrow from stumps.
- Cutting in summer. It weakens the stool (parent).
Safety
Cutting wood is hazardous work
Axes, billhooks and saws swung near the ankle injure legs, and cut stems under tension can spring back. Wear boots and keep a clear space around the cutter. Burning green wood in a closed stove makes far more carbon monoxide and chimney tar than seasoned wood: season it first (Seasoning & Drying).
What’s Next
- Learn next: What Is Coppicing — stools, shoots and rotations
- Combine with: Fuel Budgeting — how much woodland a household needs