It is also labour intensive, so expensive to carry out. Faggots (bunches of branches) were also stored as winter fodder for livestock, also known as tree hay.Д¬oppicing fell into disuse in the mid-20th century as fossil fuels took over and plastic, light metals and other materials became prevalent in manufacturing. Ash was particularly used for handles while sweet chestnut makes for good fencing material and flexible willow for excellent baskets. Pollarding was more likely to be found in wooded pasture, rather than in forests, or marking boundary lines.Д¬oppiced and pollarded wood was traditionally used for fuel, basketry materials, fencing, hurdles, building materials, broom and tool handles. Cutting the underwood (another name for coppice poles) was also described as a common practice by John Evelyn in his 1662 tract on forestry, Sylva. Wooden walkways dating from the Bronze Age, such as the Sweet Track in Somerset, have been found to contain coppiced wood. There is evidence of coppicing going back thousands of years. The resulting lumpy trunks were once described as вЂњwarty railway sleepers with a shock head of twigsвЂќ by a Victorian journalist, but the brightly coloured stems of willow seen along river banks have great aesthetic appeal. Carried out repeatedly, it leads to swollen areas on the tree trunk from which new shoots grow. ItвЂ™s also used on trees in towns to keep crowns in check in urban situations. Pollarding is a similar technique, but the cuts are made higher up the trunk, traditionally so that animals like deer and cattle couldnвЂ™t strip the fresh young growth. There is a lime tree at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire that is thought to be 2,000 years old, thanks to coppicing. Fancy a homegrown supply of beanpoles or a little bit of firewood? Coppicing is a traditional way to produce useful wooden poles, taking advantage of the ability of some trees to naturally regenerate from the cut base, or stool, with lots of long shoots.Д«ecause coppicing prevents trees from maturing, it can also lengthen their lifespan.

Coppice tree