However, converting
coppice to high forest means an establishment cost of about £1,000/ha (£400/ac)
plus extra maintenance in the early years. And, whereas income from hazel
is forthcoming every 6-7 years, most of the income in high forest comes
from later thinning and final felling - 80 years away with sycamore and
ash, and 120 years with oak. When those two factors are taken into account
by discounting, hazel coppice is more economic than any of the options in
Table 1, even at discount rates as low as 2%. In fact, at 3% and above,
none of the high forest options in Table 1 makes a profit whereas the
present value of income from in- cycle coppice is reduced relatively
little and is always positive however high the discount rate. (The
practice of discounting may be said to take account of the investor's
impatience for in- come; the greater the desire for income sooner rather
than later, the higher the rate of discount used. The Forestry Commission
uses 6%.)
1.2 Factors influencing income Having gained some measure of the sale income from hazel, it is
important to consider the factors which may cause that income to vary -
upwards or downwards
1.2.1 Stocking levels All the above figures assume that the coppice is fully stocked, and
that may not always be so. Coppice stools may be damaged or die, and
management costs would have to include a small sum for planting up gaps or
layering from existing stools. These costs are not likely to be
significant except in severely depleted woods, and a restocking grant of
£525/ha can be claimed from the Forestry Commission, pro rata on the area
actually worked.
1.2.2 Rabbits and deer Coppice shoots may be browsed by rabbits, but if cutting takes place
at the right time the growth is normally strong enough to outpace rabbits
when they have other sources of food. More serious may be deer damage,
because their browsing can have the effect of delaying felling for a year,
or erode the productivity of some areas, if numbers are high. Populations
can often be controlled by culling, especially if neighbours so-operate,
and ideally culling can generate venison sales to part offset costs. But
culling may not always be possible, for instance where shooting cannot be
carried out safely, and in that case fencing may be worthwhile.
1.2.3 Fencing Fencing costs are likely to be about £4/m for deer (not rabbits), but
the cost per ha can vary greatly according to the size and shape of the
area - the larger and more regularly-shaped the wood, the lower the
perimeter per unit area. In Table 2 the assumed shape is a rectangle with
the length four times the breadth, which gives a perimeter 25% greater
than a square. The figures show very clearly that it is much cheaper per
unit area to fence larger areas. Therefore it is better, wherever
possible, to fence an entire wood rather than each compartment on its own
- having chased the deer out first, of course. Scale is not much of a
problem with the coppice itself because it thrives on edge effect.
Table 2. Fencing costs for various sized compartments
Area
Perimeter
Total
cost
Cost/ha
0.2
ha
224
m
£896
£4,480
0.5
ha
354
m
£1,416
£2,832
1.0
ha
500
m
£2,000
£2,000
2.0
ha
707
m
£2,828
£1,414
5.0
ha
1,118
m
£4,472
£894
10.0
ha
1,581
m
£6,324
£632
1.2.4 The length of the coppice cycle So far it has been assumed that in-cycle coppice is always felled at
an age of 6-7 years, but in fact it is possible to use the produce from
hazel up to the age of about 12. Stems are fewer but larger, and can be
used to make higher value products such as rustic poles. In practice it
seems unlikely that an owner would gain by delaying the sale beyond year
7, because the sale price offered for standing coppice tends to diminish
rapidly after than age.
