Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist
There is good money in coppicing hedges in GLAS but it must be done right. While contractors are engaged by farmers to carry out work, the influence of contractors on hedgerow management in Ireland is unquestionable.
The agri-environment scheme GLAS 2 is now open for the next month or so. One of the actions available to farmers is to coppice hedgerows. A payment of E2.20 per metre per year for five years is available. The maximum linear length for payment that can be coppiced is 750 metres.
The reason for coppicing is to rejuvenate hedgerows, which through lack of appropriate management have grown high and ‘escaped’ but have not yet become a line of mature trees with a full canopy. They are typically thin at the base with gaps between the shrubs. They are no longer stock-proof and no longer useful to small birds and mammals, for whom the base of a hedgerow should provide shelter, cover and hibernation and nest sites.
Choose suitable hedges
The first critical issue is choosing suitable hedgerows for coppicing. Once the GLAS application is submitted, no changes are allowed to actions chosen or their location. Teagasc advise farmers
to discuss
any proposed coppicing with the contractor who will be completing the job. Hedgerows suitable for coppicing contain predominantly whitethorn shrubs, with at least one stem per metre so no infilling is required. It is extremely difficult to get successful establishment of new plants in an old hedgerow Some ‘escaped’ hedgerows in the past have been cut at the incorrect height of a metre or so which has resulted in new growth at this level leaving the base gappy. These ‘toilet brush’ hedges may be suitable for coppicing now at the correct height.
Cut to ground level
Cut stems close to ground level – less than 15cms from the soil. New growth will come from just below the cut stump, so it is essential to cut as low as possible to ensure a stock-proof hedge with the growth occurring where it is required – at ground level. It may not always be possible to complete the job with a circular saw, where the ground is rough or contains stones which will damage the blade. Often it is preferable to do the heavy cutting with a circular saw and do the final cut to the stumps with a chainsaw. A clean sloping cut is required at the end of the process to allow rain run off, and the wound to heal, preventing disease entering through rough cuts.
Retain a few whitethorn trees
Mature trees must be retained. These are usually oak and ash. Hedgerows suitable for coppicing should only contain a few of these. Remember to retain a few whitethorn trees within every hedgerow. In the Irish countryside, mature flowering whitethorn trees are an incredibly important source of pollen and nectar for our bees and food for birds. Coppicing removes a lot of flowering whitethorn, but this is alleviated if occasional mature whitethorn trees are retained within the newly rejuvenated hedgerow.