Coppice Woodlands

The term 'coppice' derives from the French word couper - to cut. Coppice woodlands are cut on rotation, normally from between 6 to 25 years (but 21 years for Norsey) and usually one part of the wood, called a coupe, is harvested each year. The coppice trees produce material called underwood. Underwood species, all deciduous, respond to cutting by sending up multiple stems from the cut stump, which is called a stool. Periodic cutting often extend the life of these trees and many ancient stools can be seen in Norsey. In many coppices, some trees are left uncut to grow as standards - tall and single-stemmed.

Coppicing can be traced back to Neolithic times (c4000 BC) and through the Bronze, Roman, Saxon and medieval periods. It was the most common form of woodland management in Britain until the mid 1800s. Because of this long history, ancient coppice woodlands are often considered to be direct descendants of the original forest that covered most of Britain after the last Ice Age. The system of 'coppice with standards' is also ancient.

As a sustainable woodland management technique, coppicing is still relevant today. A crop of wood is obtained annually, yet no trees are removed - only cut and allowed to regrow. In ancient coppices, such as Norsey, much of the wildlife has come to rely on the periodic cutting and regrowth of the stools. In addition, continued cutting ensures that a woodland with a healthy coppice structure is passed on to the next generation, as it has been by countless woodcutters through history. Please also see the page about the Society's Millennium Project.

Deadhedging involves using the smaller material obtained from the coppicing operation. A double row of vertical stakes is driven in at roughly one metre intervals around the coppiced area and brashings (thin branches) are laid between the stakes to form the hedge. The purpose of this hedge is to form a barrier, so that certain flora, which would be encouraged to emerge now that light can get through to the ground with the removal of most of the canopy, would be protected from dogs and humans, and ground nesting birds might find suitable sites.

This map, showing areas of Norsey Wood that have been coppiced since 1992, was produced to accompany the reprinted booklet 'Why are we felling our trees?', originally written by a former Warden, Kevin Cook. For those who are interested to see how coppiced areas develop over time and how the vegetation changes, the various areas are marked in green and the date of the winter coppicing is given. The areas are not drawn to scale, but their locations are shown relative to easily recognised features on the ground, such as path junctions,Norsey Trail numbered markers and the surfaced Easy Access Trail.