Copse or coppice?
Copse and coppice are the same thing. A copse is an area in which trees are periodically cut down almost to ground level so that they grow new shoots.
New shoots growing from the rear stool, coppiced earlier, maybe a year ago. The 'dead hedge' in this case is provided by fencing.
Copse is an abbreviated form of coppice, and is a word first coined in the late sixteenth century, around 1578. Coppicing has been conducted for thousands of years. It prevents trees reaching maturity, so lengthening their lifespan. At Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire there is a lime tree that has been regularly coppiced and is now thought to be two thousand years old.
Pollarding is a similar form of tree management, but is carried out higher up the trunk, to obviate browsing by wild or domestic grazing animals.
Our local woodlands are managed by the National Trust or the Crown Estate. There are many examples of coppicing at various stages of development.
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There are two words I had not heard used before.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
There are lots of words I'm still waiting to learn . . .
DeleteI did not know this, I always thought a Copse was a small stand of young trees, though I know what coppicing is.
ReplyDeleteCopse stil does mean a small group of trees.
DeleteWe have one or two ash trees here that have obviously been coppiced at some stage in the past. They are putting out shoots too.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting practice, and lovely to see fresh shoots.
DeleteCoppicing increases the diversity of the woodland area by letting in more light and allowing other plants and vegetation to get a foothold under the dominant mature trees. This in turn encourages wildlife to all our advantage. We live next to an oak copse and recently successfully won a challenge to a planning application for housing. In evidence we had to detail the species that would be affected and the list was, surprisingly for some, very extensive. Enjoyable post, highlighting ancient practices still relevant today.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm glad your challenge was successful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and I understand the benefits of coppicing, but it bothers me that humans just must interfere with nature.
ReplyDeleteIt has always been so, often with less than welcome results.
DeleteNot something I'm familiar with. I learn something new all the time when I visit here.
ReplyDeleteIt's a European and Japanese custom, so maybe unfamiliar in USA.
DeleteAnother interesting read. I've read about this before but definitely needed a refresher. Thanks
ReplyDeleteIt fascinates me that people can spend their entire lives managing woodlands. Such expertise and knowledge they must have.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. Since I love trees I find this description new to learn. By the way, my chestnut did bloom! Just finished so I guess it will be Fall or Winter nuts for us.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your chestnut delivered! 😊
DeleteVery interesting, I love to see all the new shoots springing up from what often looks like a dead tree.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
It's encouraging, I think.
DeleteI'm fascinated by the idea of coppicing. It's part of a slwo way of life where things are taken step by step at their own pace and at the right season. It's part of managing the landscape that is forgotten.
ReplyDeleteIt's encouraging that the old ways are still followed in woodland management.
DeleteThis is new indoor to me. I have called a small group of trees a copse without meaning pruning. The dictionary seems to concur.
ReplyDeleteYour dictionary is right. 😊
DeleteWe don't us those words here but they are in books I read so your commentary explains what the words mean.
ReplyDeleteWoodland management is a fine art.
DeleteAlways something new to learn on your blog
ReplyDelete. I learn from everyone else's blogs, too.
DeleteOur council pollards the lime trees along our street to control their growth. It looks brutal right after it's done.
ReplyDeleteThis could have been the defense of the morons who cut down the tree at Sycamore Gap. They could have said, "We coppiced it, for the tree's own good!" Not sure it would have worked, but at least it would be a reason.
I don't think they were nimble-minded enough to try that excuse.
DeleteWhy is it that somehow both of these words are associated in my mind with romance novels?
ReplyDeleteAre copses good places for romantic encounters, I wonder? 😉
DeleteInteresting
ReplyDelete😊
DeleteI had no idea that new sprouts would grow if you cut a tree like that.
ReplyDeleteIt works with (some) deciduous trees, but not evergreens.
DeleteI was familiar with both words, but had no idea they were the same thing! xxx
ReplyDelete😎
DeleteI've seen the word copse but never knew the true meaning until now. I'm not sure how much this is practiced in the United States, where I live. It's a fascinating practice. When you say lime tree, I assume you are talking about what we call linden trees here, and not the trees that produce the green citrus fruit. So, trying to verify that, I came across a website called "treeoftheyear.org" that talked about a lime tree that is verified as at least 650 years old in the Czech Republic.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed seeing trees, and I'm always pleased to see when new trees are being planted:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-plant-first-national-forest-in-30-years
How amazing that the lime tree in Westonbirt Arboretum, is thought to be two thousand years old.
Perhaps we should all hug a tree this weekend!?
https://www.thewilderroute.com/tree-hugging/
All the best Jan
PS I should also add that it's great that our local woodlands are managed by the National Trust or the Crown Estate.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
This is a really insightful post about coppicing. It's fascinating how a practice as old as this can still be so relevant in woodland management today, especially in terms of prolonging a tree's life. The distinction between coppicing and pollarding is also very clear. It's great to see these techniques in action in your local woodlands.
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