Services, protection, nature conservation

The positive role of coppice forests for the protection of infrastructure (roads, railways, buildings) is widely recognized. This protection function can only be fulfilled on a sustainable basis, if coppice forests are managed actively and cut periodically. This threatens the protection function for the future. Furthermore, the active management of coppice forests creates a unique small-scale pattern of covered and clear felled parcels, which results in specific and typical ecological niches, where many protected plants and animals find their living. Due to this fact, coppice forests are in many countries somehow part of formal legally fixed regulations about nature conservation, e.g. in the European framework of Natura 2000.

Reports

• National Forestry Regulations Affecting Coppice Management in 27 EuroCoppice Member Countries

Key Publications

• Mairota, P., Buckley, P., Suchomel, C., Heinsoo, K., Verheyen, K., Hédl, R., Terzuolo, P.G., Sindaco, R., & Carpanelli, A. (2016): Integrating conservation objectives into forest managment: coppice management and forest habitats in Natura 2000 sites. iForest, Vol. 9, pp. 560-568, doi: 10.3832/ifor1867-009
• Vergani, C., Giadrossich, F., Buckley, P., Conedera, M., Pividori, M., Salbitano, F., Rauch, H.S., Lovreglio, R., Schwarz, M., (2017). Root reinforcement dynamics of European coppice woodlands and their effect on shallow landslides: A review. Earth Sciences Reviews, Vol 167, pp 88-102

Picture: Suchomel