Coppicing

[ScottF]

Alder apparently makes the hottest burning charcoal you can get. They used to make gunpowder out of it back in the day when we were allowed to bear arms (or was it arm bears?). There's a number of old alder coppices near me with gnarly old stools over 2 metres through. Looks fantastic.

 

I'd suggest choosing your species based on your site conditions- if it's wet, use alder, if it's a bit drier, use hazel, rich soils, try sweet chestnut. There's no reason not to mix species if your site enjoys variable conditions. It's also good to intersperse some standards in there for structure. Try to make sure you use local provenance tree stock (check your zone on the FC climate zone map on their website) as the herbaceous plants which start to associate from the coppice system- enjoying periods of dormancy under shade, then pooping out after cutting- will trigger at the same time as their native, locally-adapted counterparts. If you use plants from elsewhere, they might come into leaf too early or late, and fail to offer the light and heat trigger some of these species require.

 

It sounds like a smashing little project to me- enjoy!