Editing Pollarding

{{short description|Technique of severe pruning of trees}}
{{use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Other uses|Pollard (disambiguation){{!}}Pollard}}
 {{multiple image
| width = 
| direction = vertical
| footer = A line of [[willow]] pollards near [[Sluis]], [[Zeeland]], [[Netherlands]].
| image1 = Newly pollarded near Sluis.JPG
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| caption1 = Shortly after pollarding
| image2 = Pollarded trees near Sluis two years later April 2009 cropped to match last times more or less.jpg
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = Two years after the pollarding
}}
'''Pollarding''' is a [[pruning]] system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In [[ancient Rome]], [[Propertius]] mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE.<ref name="jr">{{Cite book |last=Richardson, jr |first=L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_qjo30tjHAC&q=pollarding+trees+ancient+rome&pg=PA318 |title=A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0801843006 |page=318}}</ref> The practice has occurred commonly in Europe since medieval times, and takes place today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a determined height or to place new shoots out of the reach of grazing animals.<ref>''Pruning and Training Plants'', Joyce and Brickell, p. 55, Simon and Schuster, 1992 {{ISBN|0-671-73842-9}}</ref><ref name="DeDecker">{{Cite journal |last=De Decker |first=Kris |date=n.d. |title=How to Make Biomass Energy Sustainable Again |url=https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/09/how-to-make-biomass-energy-sustainable-again.html |journal=Low-Tech Magazine |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>

Traditionally, people pollarded trees for one of two reasons: for [[fodder]] to feed [[livestock]] or for [[wood]]. Fodder pollards produced "pollard hay" for livestock feed; they were pruned at intervals of two to six years so their leafy material would be most abundant. Wood pollards were pruned at longer intervals of eight to fifteen years, a pruning cycle tending to produce upright poles favored for fencing and boat construction. Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as [[Pergola#Green tunnels|bower]]s. Nowadays, the practice is sometimes used for ornamental trees, such as [[crape myrtle]]s in southern states of the US.<ref name="Oxmoor">[https://books.google.com/books?id=5W14JPhy70oC&q=%22crepe+murder%22  ''Southern Living 2003 garden annual''], p. 111; Oxmoor Publishing, 2003</ref><ref name="Arborist">[https://books.google.com/books?id=gbUsAQAAMAAJ&q=%22crepe+murder%22 ''Tree Care Industry Magazine'', v. 17], p. 38, published 2006 by National Arborist Association</ref>

Pollarding tends to make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and [[windage]] of the top part of the tree.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Read |first=Helen |date=October 2006 |title=A brief review of pollards and pollarding in Europe |url=http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/12acte_2_read.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714022431/http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/12acte_2_read.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-14 |website=Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve}}</ref> Older pollards often become hollow, so it can be difficult to determine age accurately. Pollards tend to grow slowly, with denser growth-rings in the years immediately after cutting.

==Practice==
[[File:Dülmen, Umland -- 2014 -- 7064.jpg|thumb|A line of pollarded [[willow]]s in Germany]]
[[File:Plane trees in Sóller being pruned 02.jpg|thumb|Pollarding of plane trees on Mallorca, Spain]]

As in [[coppicing]], pollarding is to encourage the tree to produce new growth on a regular basis to maintain a supply of new wood for various purposes, particularly for [[fuel wood|fuel]]. In some areas, dried leafy branches are stored as winter fodder for stock. Depending on the use of the cut material, the length of time between cutting will vary from one year for tree hay or [[Withy|withies]], to five years or more for larger timber. Sometimes, only some of the regrown stems may be cut in a season{{Snd}}this is thought to reduce the chances of death of the tree when recutting long-neglected pollards.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Pollarding was preferred over coppicing in wood-pastures and other grazed areas, because animals would browse the regrowth from coppice stools. Historically in [[England]], the right to pollard or "lop" was often granted to local people for fuel on [[common land]] or in [[royal forest]]s; this was part of the right of [[Estovers|estover]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forests and Chases of England and Wales: A Glossary |url=http://info.sjc.ox.ac.uk/forests/glossary.htm |access-date=2011-02-08 |publisher=Info.sjc.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Epping Forest pollard.jpg|thumb|Ancient pollarded [[beech]] tree in [[Epping Forest]], [[Essex]], [[England]]]]
An incidental effect of pollarding in woodland is the encouragement of underbrush growth due to increased light reaching the woodland floor. This can increase species diversity. However, in woodland where pollarding was once common but has now ceased, the opposite effect occurs, as the side and top shoots develop into trunk-sized branches. An example of this can be seen in [[Epping Forest]], which is within both [[London]] and [[Essex]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], the majority of which was pollarded until the late 19th century. Here, the light that reaches the woodland floor is limited owing to the thick growth of the pollarded trees.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Pollards cut at about a metre above the ground are called stubs (or stubbs). These were often used as markers in coppice or other woodland. Stubs cannot be used where the trees are browsed by animals, as the regrowing shoots are below the browse line.

==Species==
[[File:A pollard oak marking part of the ancient parish boundary of Wash Common, part of Newbury, and Sandleford.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Oak pollard marking part of the ancient parish boundary of [[Wash Common]], part of Newbury, and [[Sandleford]], UK]]
As with coppicing, only species with vigorous [[epicormic shoot|epicormic]] growth may be pollarded. In these species (which include many broadleaved trees but few conifers), removal of the main apical stems releases the growth of many dormant buds under the bark on the lower part of the tree. Trees without this growth will die without their leaves and branches. Some smaller tree species do not readily form pollards, because cutting the main stem stimulates growth from the base, effectively forming a coppice stool instead. Examples of trees that do well as pollards include broadleaves such as [[beech]]es (''Fagus''), [[oak]]s (''Quercus''), [[maple]]s (''Acer''), black locust or false acacia (''[[Robinia pseudoacacia]]''), [[hornbeam]]s (''Carpinus''), lindens and limes (''[[Tilia]]''), planes (''[[Platanus]]''), horse chestnuts (''[[Aesculus]]''), mulberries (''[[Morus (plant)|Morus]]''), Eastern redbud (''[[Cercis canadensis]]''), tree of heaven (''[[Ailanthus altissima]]''), [[willow]]s (''Salix''), and a few conifers, such as [[Taxus|yew]]s (''Taxus'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pollarding |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=156 |website=Royal Horticultural Society}}</ref>

Pollarding is also used in [[urban forestry]] in certain areas for reasons such as tree size management, safety, and health concerns. It removes rotting or diseased branches to support the overall health of the tree and removes living and dead branches that could harm property and people, as well as increasing the amount of foliage in spring for aesthetic, shade and air quality reasons. Some trees may be rejuvenated by pollarding{{Snd}}for example, Bradford pear (''[[Pyrus calleryana]]'' 'Bradford'), a flowering species that becomes brittle and top-heavy when older.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Oaks, when very old, can form new trunks from the growth of pollard branches; that is, surviving branches which have split away from the main branch naturally.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

In Japan, ''[[Daisugi]]'' is practiced on ''[[Cryptomeria]]''.{{cn|date=September 2024}} The technique is used in Africa for [[Moringa oleifera|moringa]] trees to bring the nutritious leaves into easier reach for harvesting.

==Origin and usage of term==
[[File:Beech pollard - Box Hill, Surrey.jpg|thumb|Ancient [[beech]] pollard, [[Box Hill, Surrey]], UK.{{refn|The tree marks the boundary between two parishes: [[Mickleham, Surrey|Mickleham]] (to the north) and [[Dorking]] (to the south).<ref name="Bannister6-7">{{Cite book |last=Bannister |first=NR |title=The Box Hill Book of Archaeology |publisher=Friends of Box Hill |year=1999 |isbn=0-9534430-1-9 |location=Dorking, Surrey |pages=6–7}}</ref>|group=note}}]]

"Poll" was originally a name for the top of the head, and "to poll" was a [[verb]] meaning 'to crop the hair'. This use was extended to similar treatment of the branches of trees and the horns of animals. A pollard simply meant someone or something that had been polled (similar to the formation of "drunkard" and "sluggard"); for example, a hornless [[ox]] or [[polled livestock]]. Later, the [[noun]] "pollard" came to be used as a verb: "pollarding". Pollarding has now largely replaced polling as the verb in the forestry sense. Pollard can also be used as an adjective: "pollard tree".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary 1933: Poll (''v''), Pollard (''v''), Pollard (''sb2'')</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Trees}}
* [[Bonsai]]
* [[Coppicing]]
* [[Daisugi]]
* [[Fruit tree pruning]]
* [[Pleaching]]
* [[Shredding (tree-pruning technique)|Shredding]]
* [[Tree topping]]

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== Explanatory notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060507010727/http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/press/current/press_release_56.cfm London UK Royal Parks]
*{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Pollard|year=1921 |short=x}}

{{Forestry}}

[[Category:Horticultural techniques]]
[[Category:Forest management]]
[[Category:Trees]]
[[Category:Habitat management equipment and methods]]

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