Accidentally coppiced woodlot

Hi there,

We have just moved to a few acres of woodland in mid coast Maine. Mostly red oak. Some poplar and birch, and some conifers.

We are looking to manage the woodland for its health, for fuel wood, and eventually for edible and medicinal understory plants.

As far as I can tell the land was logged a few decades ago, and the woods have grown back fairly densely and all the same height. Near to the logging road that runs through the property, several stumps have resprouted in what I take to be accidental coppices.

We plan to do some cutting this winter to start preparing next year’s woodpile. Any advice on where to begin that cutting would be appreciated. Continue the (accidental) coppicing and cut some or all of the stems (currently between 5-8 inches in diameter)? Or cut larger trees in a group to begin a new coppice and let light in, create variable landscapes?

Many thanks.

Neale Inglenook wrote:Hi there,

We have just moved to a few acres of woodland in mid coast Maine. Mostly red oak. Some poplar and birch, and some conifers.

We are looking to manage the woodland for its health, for fuel wood, and eventually for edible and medicinal understory plants.

As far as I can tell the land was logged a few decades ago, and the woods have grown back fairly densely and all the same height. Near to the logging road that runs through the property, several stumps have resprouted in what I take to be accidental coppices.

We plan to do some cutting this winter to start preparing next year’s woodpile. Any advice on where to begin that cutting would be appreciated. Continue the (accidental) coppicing and cut some or all of the stems (currently between 5-8 inches in diameter)? Or cut larger trees in a group to begin a new coppice and let light in, create variable landscapes?

Many thanks.

Hi Neale
It's so hard to give good informed advice without fully understanding the landscape fully. I think it's often best to start by creating good reliable low angle access. If you already have a good network of roads, than my preference generally woudl be to start where it's easiest for you to begin. You'll get quick feedback that way and can gradully build on your successes and work your way deeper into the woods.

In many cases, forestry really is a patch scale endeavor. That is, I've found it exceedingly valuable to identify areas with similar slope, soils, species, growth patterns, aspect, etc and then look to manage that patch as a 'unit'. If you'd like to coppice, you need to make sure you open up a large enough gap (usually a minimum of 1/4 acre or 10,000 ft2) so that the sprouts will get good light for regeneration. Also, you'll want to think about any challenges that may come with deer/moose browse.

So you could create a new patch cut that will respond with new coppice growth, or you could thin existing stools to concentrate the growth into fewer stems. I think this also depends on how much time, energy and tools you have at your disposal...

I know I haven't really answered your question, but hopefully offered a few other things to think about.
Best
Mark

Thanks very much!

Hi Neale, congrats on the find along the Maine Coast!

If you start harvesting the coppiced trees, consider counting the rings, getting an average timespan on the growth to your preferred firewood sizes (no-split, one-split, all-nighters, etc).

Once you determine how much wood you need for a season, and how big an area you need to harvest to reach the number of cords you use, you'll be able to plan it out in sections by number of years it takes to grow your annual needs.

That could help you to plan out a firewood "garden" for several years/decades into the future.  It'll also let you look ahead at road/trail maintenance to access the next couple years' harvest spots.

There are additional considerations as you get started, of course.  Year after year, the successive growth of your existing standing trees will mean you require less area than the previous year to meet your needs.  But, ballpark figures always help.

Cheers, and good luck with your new spot!

Hi Neale,


Welcome to Permies.

S Trevor wrote:Hi Neale, congrats on the find along the Maine Coast!

If you start harvesting the coppiced trees, consider counting the rings, getting an average timespan on the growth to your preferred firewood sizes (no-split, one-split, all-nighters, etc).

Once you determine how much wood you need for a season, and how big an area you need to harvest to reach the number of cords you use, you'll be able to plan it out in sections by number of years it takes to grow your annual needs.

That could help you to plan out a firewood "garden" for several years/decades into the future.  It'll also let you look ahead at road/trail maintenance to access the next couple years' harvest spots.

There are additional considerations as you get started, of course.  Year after year, the successive growth of your existing standing trees will mean you require less area than the previous year to meet your needs.  But, ballpark figures always help.

Cheers, and good luck with your new spot!

Thanks! That’s a very succinct and useful approach. Appreciate it.

John F Dean wrote:Hi Neale,


Welcome to Permies.

Thanks, I have been skimming these forums recently as I look for info that could be useful for this new homestead.

Glad to be joining the community and very much appreciating all I’m finding here.

If you're going to start medicinal forest nursery then you'll need patches that allow some light to get the medicinal started.  Less light if its medicinal mushrooms you want.  Early improvement cuts where your weeding and thinning competing smaller trees are good for mushroom cultivation as well as firewood.