Responses of ground flora to coppice management in an English woodland - a study using permanent quadrats

Changes in the ground flora in sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) woodland were studied over 11 years using permanent quadrats in two coppiced plots and one plot in a ride widened by tree removal. Light and temperature were also recorded. The temperature range was greater in the ride than in the coppice plots. Light reaching the woodland floor in summer fell to less than 1% of incident radiation at later stages of the coppice cycle. Species richness peaked in the second and third year after coppicing and then declined in both the coppice plots and the ride. A similar pattern was seen in total percentage frequency of cover. The dominant species, Anemone nemorosa, showed little response to the coppice cycle in terms of frequency, but showed a fourfold increase in flowering intensity in the second and third year following coppicing. Other species generally declined in frequency through the coppice cycle, and flowering was largely suppressed in the later stages. The results are discussed in relation to alternative methods of woodland management.