Cutting trees so they grow back
Coppicing and pollarding are two of the oldest ways of managing trees. Both rely on the fact that many broadleaved species, when cut, do not die but send up new shoots. Rather than replanting after each harvest, the cutter simply waits for the tree to regrow, and then harvests again.
In coppicing, trees are cut close to the ground. The stump, called a stool, sends up several shoots, which grow into a cluster of poles. After a number of years they are cut, and the cycle repeats. In pollarding, trees are cut higher up, often above the reach of grazing animals, and shoots grow from the top of the trunk, forming a characteristic knobbly head.
Why some trees can do this
Many species store energy in their roots and stumps and carry dormant buds that wake after cutting. Hazel, willow, alder, ash, lime, hornbeam, oak and sweet chestnut are classic examples in Europe, and similar sprouting trees are used elsewhere, including eucalypts and many tropical species. Most conifers cannot sprout in this way, with a few exceptions, so coppicing is mostly a broadleaf tradition. Because the root system is already established, shoots often grow fast in the first years.
Coppice with standards and short rotations
Coppice was usually worked on a rotation, meaning a fixed number of years between cuts. The length depended on what was wanted, and it varied by species and region.
- Fast-growing willow for baskets might be cut every year or two.
- Hazel for hurdles, fencing and bean poles was often cut every several years.
- Chestnut for fence posts and stakes ran longer.
- Wood for charcoal or firewood commonly ran on rotations of perhaps a decade or two.
A common variant was “coppice with standards,” where some trees, often oak, were left to grow to full size for timber above a coppice understory. This gave two products from the same land: small wood on a short cycle and large timber on a long one.
A coppice wood was usually cut in sections, with one plot harvested each year, giving a mosaic of areas at different stages of regrowth. The idea of how long to wait is closely related to rotation length in other systems.
Pollarding
Pollards were used where grazing animals roamed. Cut at head height or higher, new shoots were out of reach of cattle or deer. This allowed wood harvest and animal pasture on the same ground, a practice sometimes called wood pasture. Pollarded branches also produced leafy fodder for livestock in some regions, a use that has a long history in parts of Europe and elsewhere. This overlaps with ideas seen in silvopasture, where trees and animals share land.
Pollarding was also used along streets, hedgerows, field boundaries and riverbanks. Willows beside waterways were often pollarded, giving rods for basketry and fencing and helping to hold riverbanks.
Products
Coppice and pollard wood were fundamental to rural life for centuries. Products included:
- Firewood and charcoal, important energy sources, with fuelwood remaining a major use in many places today
- Poles, stakes, hurdles and fencing
- Basket rods and woven wattle for building walls
- Tool handles, barrel hoops and similar small items
- Fodder from leafy branches
Because the wood was small and regrew quickly, it provided a sustainable supply without needing large machinery, and many skilled trades grew up around it.
Value for wildlife and plants
Traditional coppicing created a rotating patchwork of open, sunny areas and shaded older growth. The recently cut areas let light reach the ground, which often triggers a flush of woodland flowers such as primroses and bluebells, followed by shrubs and young regrowth that suits nesting birds and butterflies. Older areas provide shade and structure. Species that depend on this cycle can decline when coppicing stops, and some conservation groups in Europe have revived it for that reason. The way light reaches the forest floor is explored further in the piece on understory plants.
Old pollards are valuable too. As they age, they develop hollows, decay and rough bark. They can last far longer than uncut trees of the same species, and such features give habitat for insects, fungi, bats and birds. This ties closely to the idea of deadwood habitat.
Decline and revival
Coppicing declined in many places as coal, then oil and gas, replaced firewood and charcoal, and as plastics and metal replaced wood in tools and fencing. Many coppice woods were left uncut and grew into tall, dense stands of crowded stems. Some were converted to other uses, and that often changed their wildlife value.
Interest has returned in recent decades for several reasons: conservation of the species that need open woodland phases, craft and heritage interest, small-scale supply of wood fuel, and the appeal of a renewable, low-input form of production.
Practical cautions
Coppicing is not a method to apply without thought.
- Not every tree species sprouts reliably, and old trees may sprout poorly.
- Browsing by deer can kill new shoots, so fencing is sometimes needed.
- Cutting in the wrong season can reduce regrowth, and local guidance is worth following.
- Pollarding an old, never-cut tree can harm it, so veteran trees generally need specialist advice.
Used appropriately, though, these old practices show that harvest and regrowth can go together on the same piece of land.