Editing Coppicing (section)

== History ==
Evidence suggests that coppicing has been continuously practised since pre-history.<ref name=Coles1978>{{cite journal |url=http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/cbaresrep/pdf/021/02112001.pdf |author=Coles, J M |title=Man and landscape in the Somerset Levels |journal=The Effect of Man on the Landscape: The Lowland Zone |editor=Limbrey, Susan and J G Evans |location=London |year=1978 |pages=86–89 |access-date=13 September 2007 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927071700/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/cbaresrep/pdf/021/02112001.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Coppiced stems are characteristically curved at the base. This curve occurs as the competing stems grow out from the stool in the early stages of the cycle, then up towards the sky as the [[Canopy (biology)#Canopy layer of forests|canopy]] closes.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} The curve may allow the identification of coppice [[lumber|timber]] in archaeological sites. Timber in the [[Sweet Track]] in Somerset (built in the [[39th century BC|winter of 3807 and 3806 BCE]]) has been identified as coppiced ''[[Tilia]]'' species.<ref name=Coles1978 />

Originally, the silvicultural system now called coppicing was practised solely for small wood production.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} In German this is called ''Niederwald'', which translates as low forest. Later on in medieval times, farmers encouraged pigs to feed from acorns, and so some trees were allowed to grow bigger.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} This different silvicultural system is called in English ''coppice with standards''. In German this is called ''Mittelwald'' (middle forest). As modern forestry (''Hochwald'' in German, which translates as [[High forest (woodland)|High forest]]) seeks to harvest timber mechanically, and pigs are generally no longer fed from acorns, both systems have declined. However, there are cultural and wildlife benefits from these two silvicultural systems, so both can be found where timber production or some other main forestry purpose (such as a [[protection forest]] against an avalanche) is not the sole management objective of the woodland.<ref>"A Critique of Silviculture Managing for Complexity" Chapter 1 ''Historical Context of Silviculture'' Puettmann, K.J. et al. 2009</ref>

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the technology of [[charcoal]] iron production became widely established in England, continuing in some areas until the late 19th century.<ref name="wandering">{{cite web |title=Coppicing – A Brief History |url=http://www.wanderingwoodsmen.co.uk/coppicing-a-brief-history/ |website=Wandering Woodsmen - Woodland & Countryside Conservation |access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref> Charcoal once fuelled all metalworking (with evidence dating back many thousands of years) and other high temperature industrial processes (see [[white coal]]) but scarcity led to the eventual adoption of coal as the primary fuel. Decline in charcoal as an industrial fuel accelerated after the discovery of coke (coal heated in limited oxygen) in the 18th century and leading to a crash in UK charcoal production in the century thereafter. Notably, scarcity of charcoal for industrial processes actually led to the survival of large areas of woodland in the weald of Kent and the Sussexes as large areas of coppiced woodland were jealously guarded by Roman ironmasters and later by Medieval ironmasters. Charcoal hearths in woodlands are indications of ancient status (in context).{{cn|date=December 2024}}

Along with the need for oak bark for [[tanning (leather)|tanning]], charcoal required large amounts of coppiced wood. With this coppice management, wood could be provided for those growing industries in principle indefinitely. This was regulated by a statute of 1544<ref>Forestry in the Weald, Forestry Commission Booklet 22, C. Barrington 1968</ref> of [[Henry VIII]], which required woods to be enclosed after cutting (to prevent [[Browsing (herbivory)|browsing]] by animals) and 12 standels (''standards'' or mature uncut trees) to be left in each acre, to be grown into timber. Coppice with standards (scattered individual stems allowed to grow on through several coppice cycles) has been commonly used throughout most of Europe{{When|date=May 2016}} as a means of giving greater flexibility in the resulting [[forest product]] from any one area. The woodland provides the small material from the coppice as well as a range of larger timber for such uses as [[Timber framing|house building]], [[Bridge#Bridge types by material|bridge repair]], [[Wainwright (occupation)|cart-making]] and so on. But note that coppice produce was used in parallel with larger timber. For example, hazel and willow as woven wattle infill panels (daubed or plastered) in housebuilding and ash coppice to produce components for carts, and several species for components for bridge rails and fences.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

In the 18th century coppicing in Britain began a long decline. This was brought about by the erosion of its traditional markets. Firewood was no longer needed for domestic or industrial uses as coal and coke became easily obtained and transported, and wood as a construction material was gradually replaced by newer materials.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Coppicing died out first in the north of Britain and steadily contracted toward the south-east until by the 1960s active commercial coppice was heavily concentrated in Kent and Sussex.<ref name="JNCC" />