LAUSR

Coppicing is a short-rotation system based on harvesting the stump regrowth of deciduous trees. In Central and Northwestern Europe, traditional coppicing was a major, and in the lowlands even the most prevalent, type of forest use from prehistory to the mid-20th century, from which time on it was largely abandoned (Hopkins and Kirby 2007; Szabó et al. 2015). In other regions, such as the Mediterranean or France, it remains an important type of forestry management to this day. Coppice systems produced a variety of products such as small poles used for fuel, larger timbers for buildings, litter for animal bedding or fodder for livestock. The ecological consequences of traditional coppicing on forest structure and organisms inhabiting forests were profound (Buckley and Mills 2015a,b). Coppicing created a dynamic mosaic of lighter and darker phases, and in the long-run it altered soil acidity and nutrient pools (Hölscher et al. 2001; Baeten et al. 2009). Coppices thus provided a variety of habitats for a range of organisms. They had potentially strong effects on biodiversity, particularly in combination with standards (individual long-growing trees). Many species-rich forests of high conservation value were apparently coppiced in the past. After the abandonment of coppicing and deliberate transformation into high forests, forests became darker and nutrients accumulated. Several case studies have indicated a more or less pronounced biodiversity decline caused by succession processes after the cessation of traditional coppicing management (Van Calster et al. 2007; Kopecký et al. 2013; Buckley andMills 2015b). Restoration of coppicing systems is therefore being advocated as a means to save endangered species and communities in certain areas; elsewhere, forest management systems are being modified in attempts to create conditions similar to those Folia Geobot (2017) 52:1–3 DOI 10.1007/s12224-017-9297-9