H. Ludwig, B. Maes.

Hakhout: historie en verschijningsvormen.

Historisch Geografisch Tijdschrift 24 (2006) 1 - 14.

De teelt van hakhout, en vooral van eikenhakhout, is in de loop van de laatste 100 jaar vrijwel verdwenen. De directeur van de Heidemij schrijft al in 1939: ... het eikenhakhout dateert nog uit een tijd, toen dit grootendeels voor de eikenschors werd gehouden. Wij zien echter, dat het hakhout meer en meer wordt omgezet in opgaand hout ofwel wordt gerooid om den grond aan te leggen tot bouw- of grasland. De oppervlakte grienden vermindert eveneens geregeld. Het hout voor manden- en hoepelmakerijen wordt steeds minder gevraagd (Van Lonkhuyzen, 1939). Rond 1950 was er nog zo'n 40.000 ha aan hakhout in ons land, tegenwoordig is daar nog ongeveer de helft van over, blijkens de bosstatistieken, maar merendeels niet meer als zodanig in gebruik.

Coppice wood: history and diversity

Coppicing has become a rare mode of maintenance of trees over the last 100 years, because in the Netherlands and surrounding countries, the demand for sticks and for tanning bark for the leather industry has fallen away completely. However, there is a new interest in coppice wood, partially due to the recent discovery of age-old coppice stumps. Old coppice stumps stimulate the imagination on account of their size and their gnarled appearance. Recent research has yielded a good picture of old woodland nuclei and wooded banks that have been preserved, and of the wealth of woodland that was present in the Middle Ages. The multi-stemmed coppice stumps that arose as a result of hundreds of years of coppicing can reach sizes up to over 35 meters in circumference. The largest coppice stumps are possibly over 1,500 years old. DNA research showed that the old oak coppices descend directly from the oaks that appeared in the Low Countries some 10,000 years ago. Coppicing is an efficient way of woodland management and yields handy sizes of wood, bark and leaves that can be used for a range of purposes. Coppicing of nearly all tree species has taken place since Neolithic times. Several kinds of coppices can be distinguished, based on the height of the stumps, on coppicing frequency, and possibly, on layers. Maintenance of coppices is urgently needed and of major importance from the point of view of gene preservation, ecology, woodland history and knowledge of woodland management.