Burning pine cones

This is not coppicing. Pollarding and coppicing are methods of obtaining firewood without cutting down trees, requiring new planting, and/or the many years it takes for hardwood trees to grow. Pollarding is a good method, and one which I greatly admire. I also think that pine trees deserve some credit.

Mature pine trees produce hundreds of cones every few years. No sawing is required. No splitting is required. Simply pick up cones on the forest floor, or have access to the upper part of a mature pine tree (which may be difficult), and, over the years, you will get thousands of pine cones from just one tree. I especially am thinking of mature P. Virginiana trees. Or, when cutting the wood, harvest the cones at the top. Hundreds, if not a thousand, of them.

As with pine wood, burning pine cones in a woodstove does result in creosote buildup; however, creosote is a product of various industries, so it should not be seen as a bad thing in my opinion, if there is a use for it. Do take heed, as creosote buildup becomes a fire hazard. As with a woodstove in general, you should have someone experienced do a check of it fairly often.

Pine cones are widely known to be excellent fire starters, so I think that, if you know what you're doing, this could be a great idea.