Pollarding: Difference between revisions
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'''Pollarding''' is a [[pruning]] system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In [[ancient Rome]], [[Propertius]] mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE.<ref name="jr">{{Cite book |last=Richardson, jr |first=L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_qjo30tjHAC&q=pollarding+trees+ancient+rome&pg=PA318 |title=A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0801843006 |page=318}}</ref> The practice has | '''Pollarding''' is a [[pruning]] system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In [[ancient Rome]], [[Propertius]] mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE.<ref name="jr">{{Cite book |last=Richardson, jr |first=L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_qjo30tjHAC&q=pollarding+trees+ancient+rome&pg=PA318 |title=A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0801843006 |page=318}}</ref> The practice has been common in Europe since medieval times, and today is used in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a determined height or to place new shoots out of the reach of grazing animals.<ref>''Pruning and Training Plants'', Joyce and Brickell, p. 55, Simon and Schuster, 1992 {{ISBN|0-671-73842-9}}</ref><ref name="DeDecker">{{Cite journal |last=De Decker |first=Kris |date=n.d. |title=How to Make Biomass Energy Sustainable Again |url=https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/09/how-to-make-biomass-energy-sustainable-again.html |journal=Low-Tech Magazine |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref> | ||
In the past, people pollarded trees for [[fodder]] to feed [[livestock]] or for [[wood]]. Fodder pollards produced "pollard hay" for livestock feed; they were pruned every two to six years so as to maximize the leafy material. Wood pollards were pruned every eight to fifteen years, which produced upright poles favored for fencing and boat construction. Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as [[Pergola#Green tunnels|bower]]s. Nowadays, the practice is sometimes used for ornamental trees, such as [[Lagerstroemia|crape myrtles]] in southern states of the US.<ref name="Oxmoor">[https://books.google.com/books?id=5W14JPhy70oC&q=%22crepe+murder%22 ''Southern Living 2003 garden annual''], p. 111; Oxmoor Publishing, 2003</ref><ref name="Arborist">[https://books.google.com/books?id=gbUsAQAAMAAJ&q=%22crepe+murder%22 ''Tree Care Industry Magazine'', v. 17], p. 38, published 2006 by National Arborist Association</ref> | |||
Pollarding tends to make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and [[windage]] of the top part of the tree.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Read |first=Helen |date=October 2006 |title=A brief review of pollards and pollarding in Europe |url=http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/12acte_2_read.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714022431/http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/12acte_2_read.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-14 |website=Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve}}</ref> Older pollards often become hollow, so it can be difficult to determine age accurately. Pollards tend to grow slowly, with denser growth-rings in the years immediately after cutting. | Pollarding tends to make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and [[windage]] of the top part of the tree.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Read |first=Helen |date=October 2006 |title=A brief review of pollards and pollarding in Europe |url=http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/12acte_2_read.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714022431/http://www.maisonbotanique.com/dyn/12acte_2_read.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-14 |website=Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve}}</ref> Older pollards often become hollow, so it can be difficult to determine age accurately. Pollards tend to grow slowly, with denser growth-rings in the years immediately after cutting. | ||
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Oaks, when very old, can form new trunks from the growth of pollard branches; that is, surviving branches which have split away from the main branch naturally.{{cn|date=September 2024}} | Oaks, when very old, can form new trunks from the growth of pollard branches; that is, surviving branches which have split away from the main branch naturally.{{cn|date=September 2024}} | ||
In Japan, ''[[Daisugi]]'' is practiced on ''[[Cryptomeria]]''. | In Japan, ''[[Daisugi]]'' is practiced on ''[[Cryptomeria]]''.<ref>Nōrinshō, S (1926). ''Forestry of the "Sugi" (''Cryptomeria Japonica'', Don) and the "Karamatsu" (''Larix Leptolepis ''Gord)''. Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. p. 27.</ref> The technique is used in Africa for [[Moringa oleifera|moringa]] trees to bring the nutritious leaves into easier reach for harvesting. | ||
== Ecological Impact == | |||
[[File:Pollarded Tree 1.jpg|thumb|267x267px|A recently pollarded tree.]] | |||
Pollarding trees reduces the tree [[Canopy (botany)|canopy]] and allows more light penetration and therefore better light availability for the [[understory]] vegetation growing below.<ref>Dufour, L. & Gosme, Marie & LE BEC, Jimmy & Dupraz, Christian. (2020). Does pollarding trees improve the crop yield in a mature alley‐cropping agroforestry system?. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. 206. 10.1111/jac.12403. </ref> This can have a beneficial impact on the forest floor by encouraging plant biodiversity in an area where light availability was originally scarce.<ref>Huang, K., Xu, C., Qian, Z., Zhang, K., & Tang, L. (2023). Effects of Pruning on Vegetation Growth and Soil Properties in Poplar Plantations. ''Forests'', ''14''(3), 501. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030501</nowiki></ref> The practice of pollarding is also known to promote the formation of [[Tree hollow|tree hollows]] and rot holes,<ref name=":0">Sebek, Pavel & Altman, Jan & Platek, Michal & Cizek, Lukas. (2013). Is Active Management the Key to the Conservation of Saproxylic Biodiversity? Pollarding Promotes the Formation of Tree Hollows. PLoS ONE. 8. e60456. 10.1371/journal.pone.0060456. </ref> with pollarded trees being substantially more likely to form hollows than unpollarded trees.<ref>Sebek, Pavel & Altman, Jan & Platek, Michal & Cizek, Lukas. (2013). Is Active Management the Key to the Conservation of Saproxylic Biodiversity? Pollarding Promotes the Formation of Tree Hollows. PLoS ONE. 8. e60456. 10.1371/journal.pone.0060456. </ref> Thousands of species of insect rely on the [[Xylophagy|saproxylic]] habitat that pollarded trees can provide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Olds |first=Liam |date=2022-01-18 |title=Saproxylic Invertebrates: Ecology and management of wood-decay habitats |url=https://cdn.buglife.org.uk/2022/01/Saproxylic_Inverts_LiamOldsAUDIO.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028144738/https://cdn.buglife.org.uk/2022/01/Saproxylic_Inverts_LiamOldsAUDIO.pdf |archive-date=2023-10-28 |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=[[Buglife]]}}</ref> Many species of [[hoverfly]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=G. Ball |first=Stuart |last2=Morris |first2=Roger K.A. |date=2014-11-21 |title=A review of the scarce and threatened flies of Great Britain Part 6: Hoverflies family Syrphidae |url=https://data.jncc.gov.uk/data/c1cea4c2-ceac-4e5d-9e95-e7754fbb7e03/SpeciesStatus-9-Syrphidae-WEB-2014.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213112624/https://data.jncc.gov.uk/data/c1cea4c2-ceac-4e5d-9e95-e7754fbb7e03/SpeciesStatus-9-Syrphidae-WEB-2014.pdf |archive-date=2022-02-13 |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=[[Joint Nature Conservation Committee]] (JNCC)}}</ref> and [[beetle]] will utilize the hollows and rot holes that form in living trees for their habitat.<ref>Sebek, Pavel & Cizek, Lukas & Hauck, David & Schlaghamersky, Jiri. (2012). Saproxylic beetles in an isolated pollard willow stand and their association with Osmoderma barnabita (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). </ref> These tree hollows can also provide a habitat to a wide variety of saproxylic lichens, mosses and fungi species.<ref>Fritz, Örjan & Heilmann-Clausen, Jacob. (2010). Rot holes create key microhabitats for epiphytic lichens and bryophytes on beech (Fagus sylvatica). Biological Conservation. 143. 1008-1016. 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.01.016. </ref> The tree cavities that form can also be utalized by both birds and [[Bat|bats]] as roost and nest sites.<ref>Tillon, Laurent & Aulagnier, Stéphane. (2014). Tree Cavities used as Bat Roosts in a European Temperate Lowland Sub-Atlantic Forest. Acta Chiropterologica. 16. 10.3161/150811014X687314. </ref> The pollarding of trees is often used for conservation purposes to both enhance biodiversity and provide habitat diversity.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Origin and usage of term== | ==Origin and usage of term== | ||
[[File:Beech pollard - Box Hill, Surrey.jpg|thumb|Ancient [[beech]] pollard, [[Box Hill, Surrey]], UK.{{refn|The tree marks the boundary between two parishes: [[Mickleham, Surrey|Mickleham]] (to the north) and [[Dorking]] (to the south).<ref name="Bannister6-7">{{Cite book |last=Bannister |first=NR |title=The Box Hill Book of Archaeology |publisher=Friends of Box Hill |year=1999 |isbn=0-9534430-1-9 |location=Dorking, Surrey |pages=6–7}}</ref>|group=note}}]] | [[File:Beech pollard - Box Hill, Surrey.jpg|thumb|Ancient [[beech]] pollard, [[Box Hill, Surrey]], UK.{{refn|The tree marks the boundary between two parishes: [[Mickleham, Surrey|Mickleham]] (to the north) and [[Dorking]] (to the south).<ref name="Bannister6-7">{{Cite book |last=Bannister |first=NR |title=The Box Hill Book of Archaeology |publisher=Friends of Box Hill |year=1999 |isbn=0-9534430-1-9 |location=Dorking, Surrey |pages=6–7}}</ref>|group=note}}]] | ||
"Poll" was originally a name for the top of the head, and "to poll" was a [[verb]] meaning 'to crop the hair'. This use was extended to similar treatment of the branches of trees and the horns of animals. A pollard simply meant someone or something that had been polled (similar to the formation of "drunkard" and "sluggard"); for example, a hornless [[ox]] or [[polled livestock]]. Later, the [[noun]] "pollard" came to be used as a verb: "pollarding". Pollarding has now largely replaced polling as the verb in the forestry sense. Pollard can also be used as an adjective: "pollard tree".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary 1933: Poll (''v''), Pollard (''v''), Pollard (''sb2'')</ref> | "Poll" was originally a name for the top of the head (hence [[poll tax]] and the like), and "to poll" was a [[verb]] meaning 'to crop the hair'. This use was extended to similar treatment of the branches of trees and the horns of animals. A pollard simply meant someone or something that had been polled (similar to the formation of "drunkard" and "sluggard"); for example, a hornless [[ox]] or [[polled livestock]]. Later, the [[noun]] "pollard" came to be used as a verb: "pollarding". Pollarding has now largely replaced polling as the verb in the forestry sense. Pollard can also be used as an adjective: "pollard tree".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary 1933: Poll (''v''), Pollard (''v''), Pollard (''sb2'')</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Latest revision as of 04:54, 12 October 2025
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Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE.[1] The practice has been common in Europe since medieval times, and today is used in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a determined height or to place new shoots out of the reach of grazing animals.[2][3]
In the past, people pollarded trees for fodder to feed livestock or for wood. Fodder pollards produced "pollard hay" for livestock feed; they were pruned every two to six years so as to maximize the leafy material. Wood pollards were pruned every eight to fifteen years, which produced upright poles favored for fencing and boat construction. Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as bowers. Nowadays, the practice is sometimes used for ornamental trees, such as crape myrtles in southern states of the US.[4][5]
Pollarding tends to make trees live longer by maintaining them in a partially juvenile state and by reducing the weight and windage of the top part of the tree.[6] Older pollards often become hollow, so it can be difficult to determine age accurately. Pollards tend to grow slowly, with denser growth-rings in the years immediately after cutting.
Practice
As in coppicing, pollarding is to encourage the tree to produce new growth on a regular basis to maintain a supply of new wood for various purposes, particularly for fuel. In some areas, dried leafy branches are stored as winter fodder for stock. Depending on the use of the cut material, the length of time between cutting will vary from one year for tree hay or withies, to five years or more for larger timber. Sometimes, only some of the regrown stems may be cut in a seasonTemplate:Sndthis is thought to reduce the chances of death of the tree when recutting long-neglected pollards.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Pollarding was preferred over coppicing in wood-pastures and other grazed areas, because animals would browse the regrowth from coppice stools. Historically in England, the right to pollard or "lop" was often granted to local people for fuel on common land or in royal forests; this was part of the right of estover.[7]
An incidental effect of pollarding in woodland is the encouragement of underbrush growth due to increased light reaching the woodland floor. This can increase species diversity. However, in woodland where pollarding was once common but has now ceased, the opposite effect occurs, as the side and top shoots develop into trunk-sized branches. An example of this can be seen in Epping Forest, which is within both London and Essex, UK, the majority of which was pollarded until the late 19th century. Here, the light that reaches the woodland floor is limited owing to the thick growth of the pollarded trees.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Pollards cut at about a metre above the ground are called stubs (or stubbs). These were often used as markers in coppice or other woodland. Stubs cannot be used where the trees are browsed by animals, as the regrowing shoots are below the browse line.
Species
As with coppicing, only species with vigorous epicormic growth may be pollarded. In these species (which include many broadleaved trees but few conifers), removal of the main apical stems releases the growth of many dormant buds under the bark on the lower part of the tree. Trees without this growth will die without their leaves and branches. Some smaller tree species do not readily form pollards, because cutting the main stem stimulates growth from the base, effectively forming a coppice stool instead. Examples of trees that do well as pollards include broadleaves such as beeches (Fagus), oaks (Quercus), maples (Acer), black locust or false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), hornbeams (Carpinus), lindens and limes (Tilia), planes (Platanus), horse chestnuts (Aesculus), mulberries (Morus), Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), willows (Salix), and a few conifers, such as yews (Taxus).[8]
Pollarding is also used in urban forestry in certain areas for reasons such as tree size management, safety, and health concerns. It removes rotting or diseased branches to support the overall health of the tree and removes living and dead branches that could harm property and people, as well as increasing the amount of foliage in spring for aesthetic, shade and air quality reasons. Some trees may be rejuvenated by pollardingTemplate:Sndfor example, Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'), a flowering species that becomes brittle and top-heavy when older.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Oaks, when very old, can form new trunks from the growth of pollard branches; that is, surviving branches which have split away from the main branch naturally.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
In Japan, Daisugi is practiced on Cryptomeria.[9] The technique is used in Africa for moringa trees to bring the nutritious leaves into easier reach for harvesting.
Ecological Impact
Pollarding trees reduces the tree canopy and allows more light penetration and therefore better light availability for the understory vegetation growing below.[10] This can have a beneficial impact on the forest floor by encouraging plant biodiversity in an area where light availability was originally scarce.[11] The practice of pollarding is also known to promote the formation of tree hollows and rot holes,[12] with pollarded trees being substantially more likely to form hollows than unpollarded trees.[13] Thousands of species of insect rely on the saproxylic habitat that pollarded trees can provide.[14] Many species of hoverfly[15] and beetle will utilize the hollows and rot holes that form in living trees for their habitat.[16] These tree hollows can also provide a habitat to a wide variety of saproxylic lichens, mosses and fungi species.[17] The tree cavities that form can also be utalized by both birds and bats as roost and nest sites.[18] The pollarding of trees is often used for conservation purposes to both enhance biodiversity and provide habitat diversity.[12]
Origin and usage of term
"Poll" was originally a name for the top of the head (hence poll tax and the like), and "to poll" was a verb meaning 'to crop the hair'. This use was extended to similar treatment of the branches of trees and the horns of animals. A pollard simply meant someone or something that had been polled (similar to the formation of "drunkard" and "sluggard"); for example, a hornless ox or polled livestock. Later, the noun "pollard" came to be used as a verb: "pollarding". Pollarding has now largely replaced polling as the verb in the forestry sense. Pollard can also be used as an adjective: "pollard tree".[19]
See also
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Explanatory notes
References
External links
Template:Sister project Template:Sister project
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Pruning and Training Plants, Joyce and Brickell, p. 55, Simon and Schuster, 1992 Template:ISBN
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Southern Living 2003 garden annual, p. 111; Oxmoor Publishing, 2003
- ↑ Tree Care Industry Magazine, v. 17, p. 38, published 2006 by National Arborist Association
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Nōrinshō, S (1926). Forestry of the "Sugi" (Cryptomeria Japonica, Don) and the "Karamatsu" (Larix Leptolepis Gord). Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. p. 27.
- ↑ Dufour, L. & Gosme, Marie & LE BEC, Jimmy & Dupraz, Christian. (2020). Does pollarding trees improve the crop yield in a mature alley‐cropping agroforestry system?. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. 206. 10.1111/jac.12403.
- ↑ Huang, K., Xu, C., Qian, Z., Zhang, K., & Tang, L. (2023). Effects of Pruning on Vegetation Growth and Soil Properties in Poplar Plantations. Forests, 14(3), 501. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030501
- ↑ a b Sebek, Pavel & Altman, Jan & Platek, Michal & Cizek, Lukas. (2013). Is Active Management the Key to the Conservation of Saproxylic Biodiversity? Pollarding Promotes the Formation of Tree Hollows. PLoS ONE. 8. e60456. 10.1371/journal.pone.0060456.
- ↑ Sebek, Pavel & Altman, Jan & Platek, Michal & Cizek, Lukas. (2013). Is Active Management the Key to the Conservation of Saproxylic Biodiversity? Pollarding Promotes the Formation of Tree Hollows. PLoS ONE. 8. e60456. 10.1371/journal.pone.0060456.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Sebek, Pavel & Cizek, Lukas & Hauck, David & Schlaghamersky, Jiri. (2012). Saproxylic beetles in an isolated pollard willow stand and their association with Osmoderma barnabita (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).
- ↑ Fritz, Örjan & Heilmann-Clausen, Jacob. (2010). Rot holes create key microhabitats for epiphytic lichens and bryophytes on beech (Fagus sylvatica). Biological Conservation. 143. 1008-1016. 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.01.016.
- ↑ Tillon, Laurent & Aulagnier, Stéphane. (2014). Tree Cavities used as Bat Roosts in a European Temperate Lowland Sub-Atlantic Forest. Acta Chiropterologica. 16. 10.3161/150811014X687314.
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary 1933: Poll (v), Pollard (v), Pollard (sb2)