Oxfordshire Woodland Group

Hazel coppiced in Jan/Feb 2011 showed very good regrowth during the following season with some shoots reaching 5 to 6' . The stools had been covered with coppice brash and deer controlled. However this spring (2012) many of last year's shoots are dead or dying. I suspect that the environment provided by the coppice brash suited a large population of field voles and they have been feasting on the base of the shoots. There seems to be evidence of this as there are what look like scratch marks visible. But it's not certain this is the cause. Someone suggested it may be drought. Hopefully the stools themselves are still alive as new growth can be seen right at the base. Has anybody else had this problem or can help with suggestions as to the cause?

Hi DB
We took a look at this the other day and found comprehensive removal of bark around the base of the stools down to the surface of the soil with definite gnaw marks of less than 2mm. Forestry Commision information on the subject suggests that this can fairly safely be attributed to voles. I was interested to discover that the hazels did not attempt regrowth from below 'soil level', this might be because the stools are still young and have not built up a layer of detritus to lift the apparent soil level and so bury potential replacement dormant buds. Hazel does not sucker so once all of the dormant buds have been destoyed, thats it for the stool. But there is just a small chance that one or two dormant buds have not yet responded to the shock. Other species, ash in particular can miss a year before responding to coppicing.