92 NATURAL REGENERATION 



COPPICE SYSTEMS 



General. — Economically and silviculturally the application of any 

 coppice system over large areas is a grave error. Tassey estimated the 

 loss in France, due to the large areas in coppice, at more than 60 million 

 dollars per year. In fact all the best French authorities condemn cop- 

 pice and especially short rotations, yet to-day we find four-fifths of the 

 private forests in some form of coppice. Even in the State forests more 

 than one-third of the producing forest area is in coppice (largely cop- 

 pice-under-standards). Furthermore, nine-tenths of all coppice in 

 France is managed on too short a rotation. 



In the past this type of stand was very profitable because of the 

 high prices of tannin bark and firewood. But to-day, on account of the 

 large decrease in these values, coppice is becoming less and less profit- 

 able, and so far as economic and silvicultural conditions permit, these 

 stands are being transformed to high forest. One of the main objections 

 to conversions is that it is necessary to increase the growing stock, and 

 communes dependent on local wood supphes cannot afford this economy. 

 In some localities where tannin bark is the chief product, coppice rota- 

 tions have been as short as 12 or 15 years. In other locaHties the coppice 

 of sessile oak has been continued, but with a longer rotation so as to 

 produce mine props and stulls. With this longer rotation (which often 

 amounts to 30 or 40 years) it is necessary to thin coppice in order to 

 give the best chance for development to those trees which will produce 

 mine props 16 to 33 feet in length. The management of simple coppice 

 is popular with private owners because it has frequently given a certain 

 fixed income, it requires little or no skill, less money is tied up in grow- 

 ing stock, and because there is Httle danger from insects or fungus. 

 Except in very wet locaHties, however, it results in positive damage to 

 the soil. According to Boppe: "There is grave danger from frost, 

 especially to species like beech, and to have successful coppice stands 

 for generations a mild chmate is essential." 



Furthermore it is necessary to study the sprouting longevity of the 

 species in the coppice.^" For example, the sessile and pedunculate oaks 

 in France sprout well up to 40 or 50 years of age, while other oak species, 

 such as holm, do not sprout vigorously after 25 or 30 years. But as a 

 matter of fact most private coppice in France should be cut on double 

 its present rotation. Some species (oak, hornbeam, ash, maple, alder) 

 reproduce vigorously from the stump, others (beech and birch) sprout 

 poorly but make up for this deficiency by prohfic seeding; the aspen 



i°See "Le Traitement des Bois en France, "Broilliard, Nouvelle Edition, especially 

 pp. 62-236. Since the coppice systems will not be widely used in the United States the 

 French application to the various species has not been given in detail. 



