Neb what do you mean by "needs a serious coppice" and "coppice another tree" ?
Nuts...don't have any pics to show you what I mean :[ ....
OK...the area in question is maybe 3 acres of very overgrown and dense forest, primarily dominated with Black Cherry. These trees have grown so close together (sometimes less than 24 inches) that they will never be able to fully mature. As it is right now, much of the grove is overrun with invasives such as Asiatic Bittersweet and Autumn Olive. I do my part by removing as much Bittersweet as I can (not easy when the root systems of large vines can go 30 ft in two directions), eating the delicious Autumn Olive berries (helping in a small way to prevent a complete takeover), and removing Black Cherry trees that are either dead standing, diseased, contorted from being top-heavy with bittersweet vines, or weaker ones that are growing to close to healthier specimens. So far I've created a small area that is a bit more open than what it used to be, and the Black Cherry trees there should grow to be healthy (or at the least, healthier) and not try to out-compete one another.
"Coppicing" is a term used to describe the cutting-back of excessive growth. It is one of the earliest forms of agriculture, and is still in usage in Europe with hazel bushes. It is a very useful technique for creating a more open environment and for controlling the growth so that the trees, shrubs, or bushes will develop to maturity and not be cloistered with one another fighting for the same nutrients and sunlight. Aside from that, it also helps to control invasives so that they have less favourable growing conditions. Asiatic Bittersweet is one of our worst invasives because it develops so rapidly and is a hell of a pain to remove completely. It will wire around trees, especially trees that are growing too close to each other, branching out among them and creating a canopy of vines that damages the overall forest ecology by blocking sunlight to lower plants. This also creates a dangerous situation for the affected trees, making them very top heavy. I have seen trees felled purely by the weight of the bittersweet vines in the canopy. It has taken the place of native species such as Greenbrier, which can only be found in well-managed woodlands that are absent of bittersweet. It is very slow to take over in open woodlands, even with ample sunlight, because it has little to grab onto.
Aside from trail work that involves clearing a downed tree, this is one of the few other instances where tree removal can benefit a woodland and promote healthy growth under watchful eyes and careful monitoring. The wood is a bonus on the side - sometimes I get really nice, seasoned saplings that were felled by wind and the weight of bittersweet, perfect for staves or spoons, and sometimes I have to take down a larger Black Cherry that is top-heavy with bittersweet or too close to another, healthier tree, and that gives me larger sections for firewood and kuksa blanks which I trade to a friend of mine who is a woodcarver. It is a sustainable practice, and in this case a win-win for everyone
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