J. For. Sci., 2026, 72(2):57-72 | DOI: 10.17221/5/2026-JFS

Coppice forests: Between management, conversion and restorationReview

Valeriu-Norocel Nicolescu ORCID...¹, Gavriil Spyroglou ORCID...², Sanja Perić ORCID...³, Martina Đodan³, Cornelia Buzatu-Goanță ORCID...⁴, Milun Krstic ORCID...⁵, Joao Carvalho ORCID...⁶, Iryna Matsiakh ORCID...^7,8, Halil Bariş Özel ORCID...⁹, Pande Trajkov ORCID...¹⁰, Miriam Piqué ORCID...^11,12, Ćemal Višnjić ORCID...¹³, Debbie Bartlett ORCID...¹⁴

¹ Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania

² Forest Research Institute, Thessaloniki, Greece

³ Croatian Forest Research Institute, Jastrebarsko, Croatia

Faculty of Engineering and Applied Technologies, University of Life Sciences 'King Mihai I',

⁴ Timisoara, Romania

⁵ Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

⁶ University Tras-os-Montes Alto Duoro, Vila Real, Portugal

⁷ Ukrainian National Forestry University, Lviv, Ukraine

⁸ Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden

⁹ Faculty of Forestry, University of Bartin, Bartın, Turkey

¹⁰ Hans Em Faculty of Forest Sciences, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia

¹² Joint Research Unit CTFC-Agrotecnio-CERCA, Solsona, Spain

¹³ Faculty of Forestry, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

¹⁴ Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Greenwich, Chatham, United Kingdom

Coppice is the oldest form of systematic and sustainable use of forests, and is currently applied on about 29 million ha (about 14% of total forest land area) in Europe. It had its maximum spread in the 16^th century, when an estimated 36% of all forested land in Europe was managed for coppice. Coppice forests were the most important source of fuelwood until the mid-19^th century, when firewood and charcoal were substituted by alternative fuels, and the demand for construction wood increased. Consequently, coppices (both low and coppice-with-standards) started to be converted to high forests, and the process was driven by national policies and/or subsidies, which is still the situation in some European countries. During the 20^th century, coppicing was abandoned in many places across Europe due to the abandonment of the countryside and population migration into cities, as well as changes in socio-economic conditions, technical advances and political restrictions. However, coppicing is still important in many European countries as the main source of firewood for the rural population, who has limited access to other sources of energy. In this context, this paper presents the most important characteristics of this complex abandonment/management/conversion picture, emphasising the pros and cons for the future of coppices across Europe.

Keywords: biodiversity; coppice conversion; coppice restoration; firewood vs industrial wood; history; rural population

Received: January 18, 2026; Revised: February 17, 2026; Accepted: February 18, 2026; Published: February 27, 2026  Show citation