Coppicing for firewood

kravist

About 18 months ago i planted 2/3's of an acre with bare root native broadleaves. My origional plan was to let nature take its course and see how the trees developed enjoying them for what they are.
Since then, i'm thinking i could let the trees work for me in terms of priducing firewood.
The alder is thriving, with some trees over 12 feet already. Is alder suitable for coppicing, or should i just leave them be?
To my untrained eye the downy birch don't seem to be doing the best. I've thought about coppicing them for firewood in a 4 year rotation. However, they seem to be struggling, i'm thinking of digging up certain areas and starting again with willow (slaix vimnialis), also for a 4 year copppice rotation.
The rest of the area, is mainly oak, for biodiversity, beauty etc, I appreciate its a slow grower, but they seem healthy enough to me.
The ash seems to be doing fine, although i didn't plant too many of them.
The rowan seemed to thrive at first, but didn't come on a great deal this summer, so it may find the same fate as some of the birch.
The land is peaty in parts, and heavy clay in other parts.
Any help greatly appreciated.

blue5000

Ash and birch can be coppiced for definite, after 7 yrs you should get sticks 4-6 ins diameter. Not sure about alder, I have it on cutaway bog, after 5 years the best of it is 20ft high. I would suggest leave the oak alone and leave trees around it to keep it growing straight. Hope this helps.

PaddyBloggit

more info here:

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=97185

Caoimhín

Christ, 12ft after 18 months!! Can I have some of those.

First of all, did you plant this land with grant aid from the department of agriculture/Forest Service? If so, do not cut anything or remove any trees before consulting with the local Forest Service inspector.

Ok, coppicing is usually only done when the trees have reached a diameter of 10cm at the base, except for birch which can be done when they are saplings (however, I have seen most tree species sprouting multiabale stems at a young age after the bloody hares have been at them). Ash and birch will coppice reasonably well however hazel is reckoned to be the best in Ireland and UK. Forget about the Oak as it is far too contrary and may die if it is done too soon, you can always thinn it out in 15 - 20 years and burn it. Alder can be coppiced but I haven't really read too much about it, anyways if it is growing so well I would leave the best of it be.

Willow is fine but it is grown commercially as coppicing for economic and practical reasons.

It is difficult to give you any thoughts what is wrong with the Rowan or the Downy Birch, the Ash may have been frost damage and it does not grow well on peaty soil. In general, some trees do well in the first year because they still have some latent nutrients/fertilizer on the roots from the nursery.

So, I would go with coppicing the Birch and maybe planting some Hazel in between the other trees which are not doing so well, they will soon over shadow the poor trees so no need to go to the expense and trouble of cutting them out.

Hope this helps.

djmc

I think alder or maybe elder ie. elderberry tree is the worst tree for burning

kravist

Thanks guys for all your help.
re: The 12 foot tall alder.
To be fair, they were planted as bare root trees about 2 foot tall, and it's only a small part of the plantation where they have reached those heights, on particularly peaty areas. Others remain under 4 foot.
Can hazel handle peaty ground? Will defo planta few if is suits them.