Description
Mark Krawczyk is an applied ecologist, educator, and grower incorporating permaculture design, agroforestry, natural building, traditional woodworking, and small-scale forestry. He owns and operates Keyline Vermont LLC, providing farmers, homeowners, and homesteaders with education, design, and consulting services. He and his wife also manage Valley Clayplain Forest Farm, 52 acres of field and forest in New Haven, Vermont. Dedication Acknowledgments Preface Foreword Introduction: What Is Coppice? What Is It? Dissecting Our Definition Why Coppice? Why Is It Nonexistent Here? Why Do It Today? Home and Community Scale Energy Security Local Livelihoods and a Culture of Craft Preserving Native Forests Leaving a Legacy Why Not? Purpose of This Book PART 1: HISTORY, BIOLOGY, SYSTEMS, AND ECONOMY Chapter 1: A Cultural History of Coppice Agroforestry Coppice: An Essential Prehistoric Resource The Landscapes of Prehistoric Europe and Early Evidence of Coppice Resprouts in Pre-contact North America Coppice in Europe: From Subsistence Resource to Market Commodity Roman Legacies: Industrial-scale Copses and Sweet Chestnut Medieval Woodlands: Composition, Patterns, and Protection The Manorial System: Private Ownership and Wooded Commons Coppice in the Emerging Market Economy Charcoal for Industry Boosts Coppice Production Shifting Products, Markets, and Management The Near Extinction of Coppicing The Rise of Modern Forestry Coppice in Colonial and Industrial North America? Revival? Coppicing for the 22nd Century European Revival Recapitulation: Crafting Regenerative Resprout Silviculture Chapter 2: The Anatomy and Physiology of Woody Plants Woody Plant Organs and Tissues Primary Organs: Crown, Trunk, and Roots Woody Plant Forms: Overall Aboveground Architecture Meristems: Tissues Capable of Division Wood and Bark: Tissues of the Trunk Tree Growth, Development, Life Span, and Decay Generalized Growth Pattern: Nested Cones Woody Plant Growth Habits: Above- and Belowground Plant Growth Patterns The Timing and Pattern of Seasonal Growth Tree Health and Life Span: An Energetic Balancing Act Sprouts and Resprouts The Adaptive Utility of the Ability to Resprout Anatomy and Physiology of Angiosperm Sprouting Conclusion Chapter 3: Ecology of Coppice Systems The Economy of Forest Ecosystems Natural Communities and Forest Cover Types Effects of Coppice on Community Ecology and Biodiversity Key Differences Between Coppice and High Forest Forest Growth Stages Forest Gap Formation Effects of Disturbance on Ground Layer Populations Growth Stages and Microclimate Effects of Access Rides and Woodland Roadways Coppice and Bird Species Coppice and Small Mammal Populations Coppice and Deer Coppice and Invertebrates Butterflies Deadwood Nutrient Dynamics in Coppice Woods Soil-Water Dynamics A Conservation Panacea? Chapter 4: Woodland Management Systems Systems Framework Species Economy Disturbance Severity Disturbance Chronology Landscape Pattern Resprout Silviculture Systems both Historic and Modern Adding Trees to Fields Woodland-based Systems Other Types of Resprout Silviculture Shredding Stooling Own-root Fruit Trees Stump Culture or Coppiced Christmas Trees Silvicultural Foundations of High Forest Management High Forest Management Systems Putting it All Together: Choosing the Right System for Your Landscape and Needs Chapter 5: Coppice Economics and Products Markets The Value-added Continuum Business Development Working Along the Value-added Continuum from Low to High Woodchips: Biofuel, Soil-improving Mulches, Woodchip-Clay Fodder Fuelwood Faggots Charcoal Carbon Farming Garden Products Holiday Ornamentation Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms Food/Medicine/Wine Fencing Shelterbelts/Windbreaks/Soundbreaks Hedges Specialized Traditional Crafts Baskets Rustic Furniture Green Woodworking Building and Construction Materials Buildings Modern Product Potential Matching Production Systems to Regional Climate and Production Needs Financial Assistance to Support Coppice Management Forestry Cooperatives Conclusion PART II: 21st CENTURY COPPICE: A MODERN INTEGRATION Chapter 6: Listening to the Land: The Art of Ecological Design A Synthesis of Strategies The Silvicultural Standard: Forest Management Plans Working with a Professional: The Role of Foresters Goals and Management Objectives Mapping GIS Mapping Mapping Forest Stands Site Analysis Yeomans’ Scale of Permanence Stand-specific Assessments System Design Cant Size, Rotation Length, and Layout The Circulatory System: Access and Extraction Routes Water Sources and Supply Fodder and Fence System Design Basket Willow Systems Managing for Wildlife A Coppice Pattern Language: Design Details and Criteria Designing Cultivated Ecologies: Multistoried, Multifunctional Guild Design Temporal Design: Cant Establishment and Harvest Schedules Putting Down the Pencil and Picking Up the Shovel Chapter 7: Getting Started: Establishing Coppice on Your Land Woodland Conversion Existing Stand Dynamics and Their Effects on Cant Development Natural Regeneration: Restocking Forest Stands Prescribed Burns Conclusion Field Transformation Species Layout and Spacing Ground Prep Planting Techniques Planting a Hedgerow Maintenance and Protection Tree Shelters Irrigation Projecting Costs Keeping Records Is Key Chapter 8: Coppice Management and Harvest First Harvest Cycle: Coppice Establishment When to Cut Where to Cut When to Initiate Coppicing Pollarding Preparing a Tree for Pollarding How and Where to Cut Accessing and Harvesting Pollards Timing Disturbance Chronology Managing Hedgerows The Art of Hedgelaying Tools and Felling Techniques Specialized Pollarding Tools Felling Snedding or Limbing Cross-cutting and Product Selection Extraction Storing Products Cant Management Maintenance Inputs Stand Improvement Pest and Weed Control Access Restoring Overstood Coppice Epilogue Appendix 1: Additional Resources Appendix 2: Yield and Species-by-Use Tables Species-by-Use Table Bibliography Endnotes Glossary Bibliography Index About the Author A Note About the Publisher
