Lay out a coppice by surveying the boundary, dividing the wood into roughly equal coupes with allowance for terrain and access, numbering them in cutting order and recording the year each was last cut. A 0.2-hectare coupe is 2,000 m², for example 40 m by 50 m, and a few trees are left uncut as standards.
Part of Coppicing & Fuel Management
Dividing a woodland into numbered coupes, drawing the map, and keeping the cutting record.
The Parent’s Steps
- Survey the woodland and mark the boundaries.
- Divide it into roughly equal coupes, accounting for terrain and access.
- Number each coupe and record which year it was last cut.
- Cut in sequence, which creates a mosaic of growth stages and also benefits wildlife.
- Leave some trees uncut as standards, which grow to full size for timber and seed.
What You Need
- A measuring line or rod (Measuring Rods)
- Stakes and paint or cut marks for boundaries
- Paper and a pen for the map (Map Making)
- A level or plumb line if the ground slopes and you need areas by slope (Leveling)
Method
Step 1: Walk the boundary and stake the corners. Measure the sides.
Step 2: Compute the area by splitting an irregular shape into rectangles and triangles and adding them up.
Step 3: Divide by the rotation to get the area of each coupe: A ÷ R.
Step 4: Draw the coupes on the map, adjusting boundaries to follow ditches, tracks or changes of species so that each coupe is of similar productive area, not just similar acreage.
Step 5: Plan access. Each coupe needs a way in for carrying out wood; leave a track or side strip.
Step 6: Mark the standards to be left, evenly spread among the coupes.
Step 7: Record the cutting year in a book kept in the settlement, not only on the map (Record Keeping).
Worked Example
A rectangular 2 ha wood, 100 m × 200 m = 20,000 m². Ten coupes of 2,000 m². A 0.2 ha coupe is 2,000 m², for example 40 m × 50 m. Cut as ten strips 20 m × 100 m. Check: 10 × 2,000 = 20,000 m² ✓.
Common Mistakes
- Equal area, unequal quality. A wet corner of weak stools yields less.
- No access track. Wood must be hauled out.
- A bare map. Without the cut-year record, the sequence is lost.
Safety
A freshly cut coupe is a hazard zone
Cut stools stand at ankle height among thin whips, and brash piles hide holes and sharp stakes. Mark the coupe boundary during cutting, keep children and stock out, and fence a new coupe against browsing (Fence Types).
What’s Next
- Learn next: Yield Calculations per Acre — estimating what each coupe gives
- Combine with: Rotation Planning — choosing the coupe count