pollarding
pollarding A system of wood management in which the main stem of a tree, usually a young one, is cut off about 2 m above ground level, thus favouring the development of lateral branches. With repeated pollarding a slightly swollen pollard boll develops in the main stem immediately beneath the lateral branches. Frequent pollarding, commonly seen in willows (Salix species), favours many relatively thin-stemmed lateral branches. Pollarding rather less frequently was the traditional management practice associated with wood-pastures, where grazing pressure made coppicing, the more usual method for generating new growth, impracticable. Wood-pastures were particularly characteristic of slower-growing upland woodlands, and woodlands on infertile soils. Pollarding was also used to encourage particular sizes and shapes of timber needed for structural purposes. In Britain, the Ancient and Ornamental Woodlands of the New Forest include classic relict wood-pastures with pollarded beeches and oaks.
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pollarding