Creating Multi-Purpose

Coppice Landscapes
Silviculture

The growing and cultivation of trees

late 19th cent.: from French sylviculture, from Latin silva
wood + French culture cultivation.

Both an art and a science.

Coppice is one silvicultural practice that

creates and maintains an even-aged stand
structure via vegetative reproduction
stump sprouts.
Coppice: from the French couper - to cut

Coppicing is a forest
management practice in
which (mostly) broadleaf
trees and shrubs are cut,
allowed to resprout from
the stump, and
subsequently harvested on
1-60 year cycles.

Plants are usually cut

during the dormant/winter
season, but not always.
Why Coppice Now?
From a Hydrocarbon Economy . . .
Growth Tech
Lifeboats
Green Tech Stability
Regenerative
Descent
Why Coppice Now?
From a Hydrocarbon Economy to a Carbohydrate Economy
The real issue of our age is how we make a graceful and
ethical descent from the energy peak. David Holmgren
Growth Tech
Lifeboats
Green Tech Stability
Regenerative
Descent
Cordwood
Charcoal
Mushrooms
Fencing
Wattle Fencing
Dormant buds
Adventitious buds
natural re^eneraf,ion
may occur
5 WOODLAND MANAGEMENT
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Diverse Yields from
Coppice with Standards

Nut or timber trees in the overstory (e.g., oak, hickory, walnut).

Coppice on short or medium rotation for ber or other

products in the woody understory (e.g., willow, hazel, etc.).

Perennial veggies, medicinal herbs, fertility plants, mushrooms,

small livestock (e.g., poultry, rabbits) in herbaceous layer.
One year after cutting. Five or more years after cutting, ready to recut.

Winter, just after harvest.

The summer following.

Cultivating the Meadow in the Air
Michael Machatschek, Laubgeschichten, translation by Ian Miller in progress.
Pollarded Trees & Shrubs
in Central Europe

common ash, Fraxinus excelsior

Russian & Scots elms, Ulmus

glabra, U. laevis

hackberry, Celtis spp.

black and red elderberry

Sambucus nigra, S. racemosa

sycamore maple,
Acer pseudoplatanus

eld maple, Acer campestre

hazel, Corylus avellana

European chestnut,
Castanea sativa

oaks, Quercus spp.

lindens, Tilia spp.

black poplar, Populus nigra

horse chestnut,
Aesculus hippocastanum

European beech,
Fagus sylvatica

birches, Betula spp.

willows, Salix spp.

green alder, Alnus viridis

common mistletoe,
Viscum album
Source: Michael Machatschek, Laubgeschichten, in translation by Ian Miller.
Shredding
Why?
What do you have?
What do you
need?
What does the
community
need?
The Added-Value Continuum
Raw Material
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Fuel

Hickory - 25 to 28 million BTUs/cord - density 37-58 lbs/ft

3

Hard Maple - 25.5 million BTUs/cord - density 42 lbs/ft

3

Black Locust - 27 million BTUs/cord - density 43 lbs/ft

3

Oak - 24 to 28 million BTUs/cord - density 37-58 lbs/ft

3

Osage-Orange - 32.9 million BTUs/cord - 50 lbs/ft

3

White Ash - 24 million BTUs/cord - density 43 lbs/ft

3

Beech - 24 to 27 million BTUs/cord - density 32-56 lbs/ft

3

???? - What do you have?

http://forestry.about.com/od/rewood/a/rewood_chart.htm
Fodder
Possible Woody Leaf Crops

alfalfa hay 13% 50-55% TDN fresh: 20% CP

wh. mulberry 15-28% 78-95% TDN well-studied (tropics), need ferts

black locust 17-24% 53-66% IVDMD good potential; toxic to horses

mimosa 17% 68-77% IVDMD low yielding?

honeylocust 11-13% 63% TDN appears low yielding (lvs)

red alder 14-16% fall leaves lower phenolics

black alder 19% not much data

sourwood 10-13% fall leaves nutritious!

poplar 19% need more data

Kermes oak 7-15% need more data

manna oak 12% need more data

acorns 3%

aspen 17% high phenolics?; mixed results

mesquite 16-20% high phenolics, indigestible

Vigorous coppicer, pollarder.

Zone 5 hardy.

Also produces great fruit in

quantity.

Fallen leaves in autumn also used to

feed livestock on some farms.

Several other Morus spp., including

M. rubra, a N. American spp! Have
not found data on them yet.

***Absorbs <50% of soluble

fertilizers! Best yields require
soluble fertilizers.

Italy: Mulberry benets from

association with subterranean
clover: higher yields!!

Leaves nutritious and highly

palatable to cattle, sheep, goats,
pigs, rabbits, chickens, silkworms.

High yielding in tropics:

8,000-11,000 lb/ac leaves DM
(hi: 35k lb/ac???)

Only 3% drop in cow milk yield

at 75% WM:25% concentrate.

Pigs: 15% WM optimal wt. gain.

Rabbits: 85% WM: reduced wt.

gain 25% but cut production
costs by 50%.

Better egg color, larger egg size,

more egg production with <6%
M. indica leaf meal in layer mash.
White Mulberry: Test It Here!

Leaves nutritious and highly

palatable to cattle, sheep, goats,
pigs, rabbits, chickens, silkworms.

High yielding in tropics:

8,000-11,000 lb/ac leaves DM
(hi: 35k lb/ac???)

Only 3% drop in cow milk yield

at 75% WM:25% concentrate.

Pigs: 15% WM optimal wt. gain.

Rabbits: 85% WM: reduced wt.

gain 25% but cut production
costs by 50%.

Better egg color, larger egg size,

more egg production with <6%
M. indica leaf meal in layer mash.
White Mulberry: Test It Here!

Vigorous coppicer, pollarder.

Zone 5 hardy.

Also produces great fruit in

quantity.

Fallen leaves in autumn also used to

feed livestock on some farms.

Several other Morus spp., including

M. rubra, a N. American spp! Have
not found data on them yet.

***Absorbs <50% of soluble

fertilizers! Best yields require
soluble fertilizers.

Italy: Mulberry benets from

association with subterranean
clover: higher yields!!

Max yield: 5,300 kg/ha=4,700 lb/ac, Aug.

CP: 1724%; drops by 1/3 thru season;

still + 20% CP in Aug. at highest biomass.

In Vitro Dry Matter Digestibility (cattle):

53-66%; hi-medium-& up; 56% in August
Pollarded
Black Locust Foliage
15,000 trees/ha = 6,000 trees/ac*; 100 cm hi cuts
Burner, Pote & Ares. 2005. Management effects on biomass and foliar nutritive value of Robinia pseudoacacia and
Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis in Arkansas, USA. Agroforestry Systems 65:207-214. * 32 or +80 cm o.c.
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Crude prote|n of red a|der (!"#$% '$(')) |eaves through
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Data from Gonza|ez-nernandez, et a|, 2000. Seasona| var|anon |n concentranons of
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CP only drops 10% thru season; abscised leaves have equal CP!!

Phenolic content drops over summer: cond. tannins, astringcy: -60%, Oregonin -50%!

Protein becomes more available as the season goes on, in contrast to other browse spp.

Even fallen leaves can be a key source of nutrition for browsers in the autumn!!!
Charts by Dave Jacke using data from: Gonzalez-Hernandez, Starkey & Karchesy. 2000. Seasonal variations in concentrations of ber, crude protein,
and phenolic compounds in leaves of red alder (Alnus rubra): Nutritional implications for cervids. Journal of Chemical Ecology 26(1):293-301.
Red Alder (Alnus rubra) Dees Convention
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Crude prote|n of red a|der (!"#$% '$(')) |eaves through
the grow|ng season |n the ac|hc Northwest, USA.
Data from Gonza|ez-nernandez, et a|, 2000. Seasona| var|anon |n concentranons of
hber, crude prote|n, and pheno||c compounds |n |eaves of red a|der: Nutr|nona|
|mp||canons for cerv|ds* +,$'#)" ,- ./0123)" 43,",56 26(1):293-301.
7-33/ 635839 :;9<.93= 635839

CP only drops 10% thru season; abscised leaves have equal CP!!

Phenolic content drops over summer: cond. tannins, astringcy: -60%, Oregonin -50%!

Protein becomes more available as the season goes on, in contrast to other browse spp.

Even fallen leaves can be a key source of nutrition for browsers in the autumn!!!
Charts by Dave Jacke using data from: Gonzalez-Hernandez, Starkey & Karchesy. 2000. Seasonal variations in concentrations of ber, crude protein,
and phenolic compounds in leaves of red alder (Alnus rubra): Nutritional implications for cervids. Journal of Chemical Ecology 26(1):293-301.
Red Alder (Alnus rubra) Dees Convention
Getting Started
Principles

Optimize light!!!

Identify contiguous stands (or

other patterns).

Develop convenient access.

Harvest during dormancy.

Cut low.

Keep stands dense.

Diversify!

Add value.

Protect from browse.

A Coppice Pattern Language

Lone Stool

Swale Alley

Successional Shelterbelt

Pasture and Pollards (with

Standards)

Chop and Drop

Nite(rogen) Nurse

Shredded Succession

Hedgerow

Backyard Buffer/Fedge

Copses in Clumps

Sucessional Suntrap

Grown in Graywater

Decorative Deer Fence

Pollarded Posts

Ripe-arian Buffer

Contour Cants

Salad Stool
There are two ways to start
Planting
- Requires time, money and
energy to establish (esp.
appropriate site prep).
- Wait 5-8 years before
harvest.
- Protect trees from browse.
- Manage herbaceous
competition.
- Irrigate if necessary.
+ Provides an optimally-
spaced stand of desirable
species.
Forest Renovation
- Requires time and energy to
establish.
- May result in less-than-optimal
spacing and/or species mix.
- Still requires protection from
browse and some herbaceous
control.
+ Once cut, established trees
coppice immediately, producing
a crop of poles much more
quickly than newly planted
individuals.
Which stand proves more promising?
Spacing

Optimal spacing depends on rotation length.

Short rotation coppice can be very closely

spaced.

Basket willow, annually cut - 1 centers.

Longer rotation - aim for 6-8, up to 11.

Stand Improvement

When planting, you determine the spacing.

When renovating existing forest stands, youll

need (aka want) to ll in gaps.

You have at least three options:

1 - plant.

2 - layer coppice shoots into gaps.

3 - plan a selective seed tree/shelterwood cut

and use natural regeneration to ll in the
understory.

Identify stands based on similar characteristics:

Species, age, slope, soils, etc.

Use access patterns to help dene the cants:

Good access is crucial to good management.

Balance available land base with annual needs and projected yields to
determine cant size:

Aim to maintain clear cuts at least 1/4 acre in size (100x100) to

ensure adequate light for regrowth.

Minimize edges to simplify browse protection.

Cant Layout
Species, Uses,
Tolerances and
Functions
Durability

Catalpa

Chestnut

Black Locust

Red Mulberry

White Oaks

Osage-orange

Sassafras
Polewood

Ash

Birch

Black Locust

Red/Sugar Maple

Hickory

Tulip Poplar

Sycamore

Elm

Poplar
Weaving

Willow

Hazel

Dogwood

Viburnums

Alder

Ash

White Oak (splits)

Hedges

Hawthorn

Ash

Hazel

Wild Plum/Pear/
Crabapple

Black Locust

Osage-orange

Honey Locust

Mulberry

Holly

Hickory

Walnut

Oak

Basswood

Poplar
Biomass

Willow

Poplar/Cottonwood

Black Birch

Boxelder

Silver/Red Maple

Alder

Pawlonia**

Ailanthus**

Black locust

Siberian Pea Shrub

Ceanothus

Sweetgum

Sycamore

Sumac

Elderberry
Nitrogen

Black Locust

Alder

Siberian Pea Shrub

Sea Berry/Buckthorn

Buffaloberry

Honey Locust?

Elaeagnus spp.

Ceanothus spp.

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Wet Sites

Willow

Swamp White Oak

Dogwood

Viburnum

Cottonwood

Mulberry

Poplar/Aspen

Red/Silver Maple

Wet-adapted
Hickories

Tupelo

Elm
Dry Sites

Oak

Chestnut

Hickory

Hazelnut

Black Locust
Mark Krawczyk
keylinevermont@gmail.com
www.keylinevermont.com
www.coppiceagroforestry.com
Dave Jacke
davej@edibleforestgardens.com
www.edibleforestgardens.com
www.coppiceagroforestry.com