Woodland Management - Coppicing

[nickfalvo]

I am in the United States, Pennsylvania at the moment, but looking to move. I would prefer northern California to Oregon.

I would like to coppice for fire wood and buidling material. I understand that there is a rather long waiting period for this venture to become truly sustainable.

Here are my questions:

What kinds of trees are best? My assumption after doing much research is Ash, Hazel, Sweet Chestnut and Sycamore. Yes, No? Ideas?

Where can I find a chart with sapling distances for successful growth? I have read many accounts that say you should plant long rows of seeds and let them decide which will remain by culling the stragglers and approximate distances. Yes, No?

My intent is having 30 acres or more of just coppiced trees that I would cut and plant in a 7 year cycle:

ie

year 1 - plant rows A, H, O, V & 3
year 2 - plant rows B, I, P, W & 4
year 3 - plant rows C, J, Q, X & 5
year 4 - plant rows D, K, R, Y & 6
year 5 - plant rows E, L, S, Z & 7
year 6 - plant rows F, M, T, 1 & 8
year 7 - plant rows G, N, U, 2 & 9
year 8 - coppice rows A, H, O, V & 3
year 9 - coppice rows B, I, P, W & 4
year 10 - coppice rows C, J, Q, X & 5
year 11 - coppice rows D, K, R, Y & 6
year 12 - coppice rows E, L, S, Z & 7
year 13 - coppice rows F, M, T, 1 & 8
year 14 - coppice rows G, N, U, 2 & 9

and continue til I die

Yes, I completely understand that some trees are best to cut ever 7, 15, 20, 50 years etc. I plan on purchasing a minimum of 100 acres and having a horse & dog rescue with my fiance. She of course handles the animal side and I handle the upkeep, repairs and finances.

I'm simply asking for your opinions, critical thinking and constructive criticism.

Are there any good primers out there?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Nick

 

[showlandjr]

Its great to hear of someone working on setting up coppice here in the united states!

The 7 year rotation is for fence posts and tool handles and that kind of stuff if you are wanting firewood its better to let it go to closer to 14 years so that you are not having to deal with a lot of pole wood.

Sweet chestnut is a great coppice wood in England but I don't believe it does quite as well here for some reason. But not to worry the American timber chestnut that coppice well also from what I know. if you are going to be out west I don't believe that you will even have to deal with having to grow the crosses because I think that the blight did not make it over the Rockies. Though you are welcome to try the sweet chestnut and let us know how it works. As for the uses of chestnut its usually good on a 7-10 year rotation for pole wood for fencing and other coppice crafts. Its mainly the rot resistance that makes it so valuable as it doe not grow quite as fast as ash or red maple in terms of firewood production though it does make very nice firewood.

Your row of seeds idea sounds good to me, let natural selection determine the better trees. As for distances its different for every species and also for the rotation length and the intended harvest though for the most part you want to plant the initial trees much closer together and then cull the ones that are not doing well on your soil. I would plant saplings about 4 feet apart for ash, red maple and hickory. and maybe 5 for chestnut and I think that hazel is like 3 if you are making wood items and 6 if you are growing for nut production. of curse all of these are then going to need to be thinned.

I hope all goes well for you and I would love to hear about how your project goes as I am very interested in getting coppice style management going in the united states. If you haven't read Coppicing and Coppice Crafts: A Comprehensive Guide you should its a great source of information though it mainly focuses in England there are lots of great aspects are that universal.

-Shelby

 

[ATH]

1) Don't use ash. Not sure how long before EAB gets to Cali, but bad news when it does.

2) Stop in Nebraska on your way out and check out the National Arbor Day Foundation's Lied Lodge...they are growing wood to heat that. If I recall correctly, they are using cottonwood or some other species of Populus Most species that coppus well, have low BTUs per cord, but you can get a lot of cords per acre per year, so it works out better in the end.

3) Not sure those are the same trees I want for building materials. Maybe consider growing a better structural species (pine appropriate to the site, douglas-fir if you are in the right area, etc...) every 3rd row with the plan for those being there for a longer rotation. The other trees around them will force straighter growth (we'd call those "nurse trees"). The downside is that as the timber trees get bigger, they will slow the growth of your future generations of nurse trees...but if the plan is to clearcut the "building trees" after 2-3 rotations of the coppiced nurse/firewood trees that is probably not going to be a problem.

4) How big the firewood trees need to get depends on how you want to use them. If you want traditional firewood, then as showlandjr said, you may want larger stems. However, if you want to burn chips (likely giving you more control over burn rates, temperature, etc...) then that larger size is not as desirable).

5) Del_Corbin implies you are going to climb the trees and take the tops out. I understood your original question as these would be trees that you will cut at ground level. Who has it right?

6) Seek out a professional forester in the area where you are moving.

Keep us up to date on your ideas!

 

[tree md]

How refreshing to read something interesting and informative in the 101 forum!

 

[nickfalvo]

more information for you

The entire facility will be off-grid and 100% sustainable.

By using a combination of Earth Berm & Enveloped Structures, the energy costs will be significantly lower than normal farms. The implementation of low power LED lighting, USB outlets with traditional three-prong grounded outlet stations for more robust electronics such as computers, dehydrated food production, hydroponic food production, and waste-water reclamation will allow the entire facility to be completely self-sustaining.

The plan is that the wood will supply the fuel for several wood-gas generators in conjuction with anaerobic digesters, biogas generators and an appropriate combination of wind, solar, geothermal and/or hydro power. Internally in the dwellings, efficient heating "Russian stoves" will be used.

So when I said building supplies - I meant for fencing and repairs to the facilities. There will not be any planking or a need to process huge logs.

@Shelby thanks for the suggestion about Coppicing and Coppice Crafts: A Comprehensive Guide - I ordered in from Amazon - I hope to begin reading it soon!

@Del_Corbin No Climbing of trees here. We will be Coppicing, not Pollarding. I never understood why anyone would desire firewood that needs split when you can easily coppice trees to get nice 4-6 inch in diameter logs. Of course, splitting would be required when folks cut down big trees. Not what the intent is in this application.

@ATH I will definitely visit Nebraska - thanks for the heads up. And I will look further into cottonwood. I didn't really see much about it in my research into coppicing. I will definitely be employing the expertise of SEVERAL professional foresters.

I want this facility to serve as not only a business for myself, but also as a rescue for the animals, a therapy facility for ex-convicts, prior military with PTSD, and mentally challenged adults.

The first stage is to complete a business plan, grant proposals, fund-raising concepts. Once that is completed, I will meet with my lawyer to ensure legal protections. Then I will get a website going.

I plan on approaching several universities and colleges (not just in the US) to set-up residency programs for various disciplines.

I am 33 years old. This will be my life's work.

You folks still liking my idea?