Pollarding

Supple young willow or hazel branches may be harvested as material for weaving baskets, fences, and garden constructions such as bowers.

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.

Sometimes, only some of the regrown stems may be cut in a season – this is thought to reduce the chances of death of the tree when recutting long-neglected pollards.

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.

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.

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).

Some trees may be rejuvenated by pollarding – for example, Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'), a flowering species that becomes brittle and top-heavy when older.

[citation needed] The technique is used in Africa for moringa trees to bring the nutritious leaves into easier reach for harvesting.