A CONTENTION THAT ENGLAND NEEDS MORE FOREST MANAGEMENT BY POLLARDING AND COPPICING.

A CONTENTION THAT ENGLAND NEEDS MORE FOREST MANAGEMENT BY POLLARDING AND COPPICING. Coppicing and pollarding seem like humble activities. It turns out they are central to the history of English forests. I looked up coppicing and pollarding because the Economist (March 14) had this obituary for Oliver Rackham, a “woodland archaeologist”. The obituary says that Rackham strongly believed that: “The wood had to be managed again, as it had been for centuries, by coppicing or pollarding the trees on regular cycles for fencing, wheels and furniture, thus encouraging the underwood, and by leaving some trees to grow tall for building.” Arranging to have all trees of a uniform height and close together, even if thought to be aesthetically pleasing, would block light and prevent growth of underwood. Rackham believed that one 500 hundred year oak could not be replaced by thousands of young trees.