Coppice Agroforestry

Mark Krawczyk is an applied ecologist, educator, and grower incorporating permaculture design, agroforestry, natural building, traditional woodworking, and small-scale forestry. He owns and operates Keyline Vermont LLC, providing farmers, homeowners, and homesteaders with education, design, and consulting services. He and his wife also manage Valley Clayplain Forest Farm, 52 acres of field and forest in New Haven, Vermont.

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

Foreword


Introduction: What Is Coppice?

What Is It?

   Dissecting Our Definition

Why Coppice?

Why Is It Nonexistent Here?

Why Do It Today?

   Home and Community Scale Energy Security

   Local Livelihoods and a Culture of Craft

   Preserving Native Forests

   Leaving a Legacy

   Why Not?

Purpose of This Book


PART 1: HISTORY, BIOLOGY, SYSTEMS, AND ECONOMY


Chapter 1: A Cultural History of Coppice Agroforestry

Coppice: An Essential Prehistoric Resource

   The Landscapes of Prehistoric Europe and Early Evidence of Coppice

   Resprouts in Pre-contact North America

Coppice in Europe: From Subsistence Resource to Market Commodity

   Roman Legacies: Industrial-scale Copses and Sweet Chestnut

   Medieval Woodlands: Composition, Patterns, and Protection

   The Manorial System: Private Ownership and Wooded Commons

Coppice in the Emerging Market Economy

   Charcoal for Industry Boosts Coppice Production

   Shifting Products, Markets, and Management

The Near Extinction of Coppicing

   The Rise of Modern Forestry

   Coppice in Colonial and Industrial North America?

Revival? Coppicing for the 22nd Century

   European Revival

Recapitulation: Crafting Regenerative Resprout Silviculture


Chapter 2: The Anatomy and Physiology of Woody Plants

Woody Plant Organs and Tissues

   Primary Organs: Crown, Trunk, and Roots

   Woody Plant Forms: Overall Aboveground Architecture

   Meristems: Tissues Capable of Division

   Wood and Bark: Tissues of the Trunk

Tree Growth, Development, Life Span, and Decay

   Generalized Growth Pattern: Nested Cones

   Woody Plant Growth Habits: Above- and Belowground

      Plant Growth Patterns

   The Timing and Pattern of Seasonal Growth

   Tree Health and Life Span: An Energetic Balancing Act

Sprouts and Resprouts

   The Adaptive Utility of the Ability to Resprout

   Anatomy and Physiology of Angiosperm Sprouting

Conclusion


Chapter 3: Ecology of Coppice Systems

The Economy of Forest Ecosystems

Natural Communities and Forest Cover Types

Effects of Coppice on Community Ecology and Biodiversity

  Key Differences Between Coppice and High Forest   

  Forest Growth Stages

   Forest Gap Formation

  Effects of Disturbance on Ground Layer Populations

  Growth Stages and Microclimate

  Effects of Access Rides and Woodland Roadways

  Coppice and Bird Species

  Coppice and Small Mammal Populations

  Coppice and Deer

  Coppice and Invertebrates

  Butterflies

  Deadwood

  Nutrient Dynamics in Coppice Woods

  Soil-Water Dynamics

A Conservation Panacea?


Chapter 4: Woodland Management Systems

Systems Framework

  Species

  Economy

  Disturbance Severity

  Disturbance Chronology

  Landscape Pattern

Resprout Silviculture Systems both Historic and Modern

  Adding Trees to Fields

  Woodland-based Systems

Other Types of Resprout Silviculture

  Shredding

  Stooling

  Own-root Fruit Trees

  Stump Culture or Coppiced Christmas Trees

Silvicultural Foundations of High Forest Management

  High Forest Management Systems

Putting it All Together: Choosing the Right System for Your Landscape and Needs


Chapter 5: Coppice Economics and Products

Markets

The Value-added Continuum

Business Development

Working Along the Value-added Continuum from Low to High

  Woodchips: Biofuel, Soil-improving Mulches, Woodchip-Clay

  Fodder

  Fuelwood

  Faggots

  Charcoal

  Carbon Farming

  Garden Products

  Holiday Ornamentation

  Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms

  Food/Medicine/Wine

  Fencing

  Shelterbelts/Windbreaks/Soundbreaks

  Hedges

  Specialized Traditional Crafts

  Baskets

  Rustic Furniture

  Green Woodworking

  Building and Construction Materials

  Buildings

  Modern Product Potential

Matching Production Systems to Regional Climate and Production Needs

Financial Assistance to Support Coppice Management

Forestry Cooperatives

Conclusion


PART II: 21st CENTURY COPPICE: A MODERN INTEGRATION


Chapter 6: Listening to the Land: The Art of Ecological Design

A Synthesis of Strategies

The Silvicultural Standard: Forest Management Plans

  Working with a Professional: The Role of Foresters

Goals and Management Objectives

Mapping

  GIS Mapping

  Mapping Forest Stands

Site Analysis

  Yeomans' Scale of Permanence

  Stand-specific Assessments

System Design

  Cant Size, Rotation Length, and Layout

  The Circulatory System: Access and Extraction Routes

  Water Sources and Supply

  Fodder and Fence System Design

  Basket Willow Systems

  Managing for Wildlife

A Coppice Pattern Language: Design Details and Criteria

Designing Cultivated Ecologies: Multistoried, Multifunctional Guild Design

Temporal Design: Cant Establishment and Harvest Schedules

Putting Down the Pencil and Picking Up the Shovel


Chapter 7: Getting Started: Establishing Coppice on Your Land

Woodland Conversion

  Existing Stand Dynamics and Their Effects on Cant Development

  Natural Regeneration: Restocking Forest Stands

  Prescribed Burns

Conclusion

Field Transformation

  Species

  Layout and Spacing

  Ground Prep

  Planting Techniques

  Planting a Hedgerow

Maintenance and Protection

  Tree Shelters

  Irrigation

Projecting Costs

Keeping Records Is Key


Chapter 8: Coppice Management and Harvest

First Harvest Cycle: Coppice Establishment

  When to Cut

  Where to Cut

  When to Initiate Coppicing

Pollarding

  Preparing a Tree for Pollarding

  How and Where to Cut

  Accessing and Harvesting Pollards

  Timing

  Disturbance Chronology

Managing Hedgerows

  The Art of Hedgelaying

Tools and Felling Techniques

  Specialized Pollarding Tools

  Felling

Snedding or Limbing

Cross-cutting and Product Selection

Extraction

Storing Products

Cant Management

Maintenance Inputs

  Stand Improvement

  Pest and Weed Control

  Access

Restoring Overstood Coppice




Epilogue

Appendix 1: Additional Resources

Appendix 2: Yield and Species-by-Use Tables

Species-by-Use Table Bibliography

Endnotes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

A Note About the Publisher