Energieholzproduktion in Mittel- und Nieder-wäldern der Schweiz | Energy Wood Production in Coppice With Standards and Coppice Forests in Switzerland

Coppice with standards and coppice forests are the result of silvicultural systems widely applied until the mid-twentieth century, mainly for fuel production. Similar to energy plantations in Scandinavia and Germany the above-mentioned systems are characterised by a short rotation. The present paper tries to show that, owing to efficient logging methods, energy wood can be produced from coppice and coppice with standards forests so cheaply that it proves to be highly competitive compared to oil. The economic value of coppice and coppice with standards was calculated on the basis of models and compared to high forest cultivation. Contrary to high forests, the coppice with standards system is cost-covering on poor, well developed and easily accessible sites.