Abstract
Forest covers 4.06 billion hectares (ha) or 31% of the total land area worldwide, where 93% (3.75 billion ha) are natural regenerating forests and the remaining 7% (294 million ha) are planted forests. Eucalyptus spp., being one of the most important plantation species, has been planted in 95 countries around the world, and the area of plantation has exceeded 22.57 million ha. In the southern hemisphere, it is a significant industrial fast-growing tree species. These plantations serve as a valuable resource for the timber and fibre-based industries. Eucalyptus is the main fibre resource for the pulp and paper industries in developed countries. Timber extracted from the planted eucalyptus trees has long been used for solid wood and its fibres were used for manufacturing medium-density fibreboard. In comparison to most softwood species, Eucalyptus timber is reported to have a higher rigidity, making it ideal for manufacturing structural products. Therefore, this paper presents a review and analysis of the recent state of research on the utilisation of planted eucalyptus for engineered wood products (EWPs) manufacturing. This study investigated Eucalyptus-based EWPs such as particleboard, fibreboard, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber, plywood, glue laminated lumber, and cross-laminated lumber. The feasibility of using planted Eucalyptus in the production of EWPs, as well as the challenges encountered, was also discussed.
Highlights
According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2020, the total forests area worldwide is amounted to 4.06 billion hectares, which covers 31% of the total land area [1]
Other favourable characteristics of Eucalyptus include its good efficiency at capturing CO2 and producing oxygen, better efficiency in water consumption compared to other species, increasing soil fertility, and restoring land degradation or unproductive land [16, 17].According to Myburg [18] and Iglesias Trabado and Wilstermann [19], currently there are more than 100 countries across six continents around the world planting Eucalyptus and covering over 20 million ha, making it the most widely planted broad-leaved tree species worldwide
When compared to particleboard made from P. taeda, the results showed that particleboard made from Eucalyptus species had a higher modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE). e particleboard manufactured from E. grandis had the greatest MOR and MOE values
Summary
According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2020, the total forests area worldwide is amounted to 4.06 billion hectares (ha), which covers 31% of the total land area [1]. Natural regenerating forests cover around 3.75 billion ha or 93% of the total forest area. The total area of planted forests globally is estimated to be 294 million ha or 7% of the world forest area. Asia has the largest area of planted forests which amounted to 135.23 million ha, or 46% of the total planted forests area globally, followed by Europe, North and Central America, South America, Africa, and Oceania. Planted forests provide many benefits including traditional timber and fibre production, economic development, and employment in rural areas [2] and have been identified as a key means to fight climate change in the short to medium term, restore degraded land, and maintain sustainable ecosystem functions and services [3,4,5,6]. Planted forests are being proposed as a way to reduce harvesting pressure on natural forests [8]
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