Coppicing in the 19th century

Restoration of coppicing management in
Devín: can a biodiversity decline trend be
reversed?
Radim Hédl,
Markéta Chudomelová, Martin Kopecký, Jana Müllerová,
Vladan Riedl, Péter Szabó, Jan Šipoš, Ondřej Vild
Coppicing
Short-rotation forest management system utilizing natural resprouting
ability of deciduous tree species
Year 5-20+
Year 1
Year 2-4
note the woodbanks,
coppice stools,
coppicing rotation
© R. Hédl
Abandoned coppice-with-standards
Děvín, Pálava, SE Czech Republic
Converted coppice-with-standards
Bacín, central Bohemia, Czech Republic
Coppicing in the 19th century
Moravia, eastern Czech Republic, 28,000 km2
Source: historical forest database, www.longwood.cz
Conversions to high forest
From the 19th to the mid of the 20th century
Člověk pařezinovým hospodařením velmi silně zasahoval do produkční
podstaty lesní půdy, a toto hospodářství se projevilo dnes převážně již tak
škodlivě, že místy vedlo k úplné degradaci půd a tím i k většímu nebo menšímu
snížení půdní úrodnosti a tím i dřevní produkce.
Prof. J. Pelíšek
Otázka převodů však zůstává stále otevřenou, … pařezina jako hospodářství a
pěstební způsob může být zdokonalena (na př. vytvořením etáže výstavkové a
pod.) a může být za určitých okolností dobře využita.
Prof. B. Polanský
(both quotations are from the special issue of „Lesnictví“
from 1957 on the conversion of coppices to high forest)
Perspectives of coppicing research in ecology
1. Long-term legacy of coppicing at the landscape scale
2. Consequences of coppicing abandonment in the 20th century
3. Effects of coppicing restoration
Coppicing cycles
Mikulov estate (SE Czech Repubic)
Urbarium from 1384:
“Das holcz, das do get niderhalb des wegs durich die Chlausen,
das haist der Lelasch, und ist deselb zeit 2 jar alt gevesen;
wann er zw 7 jarn chumpt, so schaczt mann für 36 lb. und 2 lb.
ze leitchauff.”
© P. Szabó
Forest description from 1692:
Increasing forest age in the past two centuries
forestry maps, Děvín, ca. 380 ha
Müllerová, Szabó, Hédl
2014 Forest Ecol Manag
Mikulov estate: historical coppicing
 amount of firewood harvested
1685-1885
 income from woodlands
1414-1629
Müllerová, Szabó, Hédl
2014 Forest Ecol Manag
Coppicing cessation in Děvín
Detection in tree-rings of
oak standards
.
Czech Republic
Pálava PLA
Altman et al., PLoS ONE, 2013
Coppicing cessation in Děvín
Detection in tree-rings of
oak standards
Altman et al., PLoS ONE, 2013
Děvín: Vegetation change in since the 1950s
From coppices to high forest
Resurvey of 122 plots 1953-2003
Share of plots
Děvín: Vegetation change in since the 1950s
Number of species per plot (alpha-diversity)
Species richness impoverishment
Species per plot
Děvín: Vegetation and environment change
since the 1950s
• Darker
• Nutrient-richer
• Moister
Kopecký, Hédl, Szabó, 2013, J Appl Ecol
Coppicing restoration
2008-2016
Coppicing restoration
2008-2016
Three types of stands
135 plots in a nested design, plot size 3.15 m2
number of species per plot
35
30
25
A
B
C
20
15
Intense thinning
Moderate thinning
Control
10
5
Means and SD
0
treatment
Coppicing restoration
2008-2016
Three types of stands
135 plots in a nested design, plot size 3.15 m2
45
45
45
40
40
40
35
A1
A1
A2
35
A2
35
A2
A3
A3
A3
A4
A4
A4
A5
A5
A5
B1
B1
30
number of species
30
number of species
number of species
30
A1
B1
25
25
B2
B3
20
20
B4
B5
C1
15
15
10
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
B3
20
B4
B4
B5
B5
C1
C2
C2
C3
C3
10
C3
C4
C4
C4
C5
C5
C5
5
0
0
1
B3
C1
15
5
0
B2
C2
10
5
25
B2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
plot rank
plot rank
plot rank
Intense thinning
Moderate thinning
Control
7
8
9
Thank you
The research leading to these results has received funding from
the European Research Council under the European Union’s
Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC Grant
agreement no 278065.
www.longwood.cz