Early Timber Research Articles

Research Progress and a Prospect Analysis of Asexual Bamboo Reproduction

Bamboo possesses various characteristics that make it a promising renewable biomass resource. These include rapid growth, early timber production, strong adaptability, high yield, ease of planting, wide distribution, and ease of processing. With the increasing demand for bamboo resources, rapid propagation, species selection, and breeding have always been the focus of bamboo research. However, the long and unpredictable flowering cycle of bamboo, coupled with the difficulties of obtaining seeds, has made it difficult for mass-scale propagation and the introduction of desirable traits through classical breeding methods, which hinders the genetic improvement of bamboo. Asexual propagation, tissue culture, and genetic transformation present an effective breeding method to hasten the breeding process, improve breeding efficiency, and screen and create superior new varieties, and may significantly enhance the genetic improvement of bamboo and the development of the bamboo industry. This study reviews recent research on the asexual propagation of bamboo, propagation methods, cultivation means, influencing factors, and transgenes. The bamboo species that participated in asexual reproduction were systematically sorted according to the type of explants, the formula of the culture medium, and the results achieved. In addition, the bottlenecks and development trends in each training process were identified. This study provides a reference for the rapid propagation and genetic breeding of bamboo plants.

Three-dimensional modelling and analysis of early timber scarf joints at Padmanabhapuram palace, Thuckalay, Tamil Nadu

Three-dimensional modelling and analysis of early timber scarf joints at Padmanabhapuram palace, Thuckalay, Tamil Nadu

The Development of a Manor House over the Longue Durée: Nassington Prebendal Manor, Northamptonshire

ABSTRACT Excavation beneath the standing building of the Prebendal Manor House at Nassington revealed the remains of part of a tenth-century structure and the plan of an early eleventh-century timber chamber and single-aisle hall. The eleventh-century remains are identified as the hall of the priest which was later transferred to endow a prebend at Lincoln cathedral. That building was modified in the twelfth century when the single-storey chamber was replaced with a two-storey structure. The timber house was replaced c.1200 on almost exactly the same site by an unaisled stone hall with a span of 7.6 m and a stone chamber. The chamber was conjoined with the hall, but entered externally. In 1433–50 a major reconstruction of the hall was undertaken, with the walls raised and a new roof constructed. The service wing was rebuilt in a slightly later phase, with a clasped purlin roof dated to c. 1455. The later development of the manor house is treated more summarily. Parts of the hall are still standing, while the chamber was not demolished until c. 1800. The persistence on the same site of a manorial building from the eleventh century onwards is notable, and the reasons for this are examined.

St Oswald’s Church, Fulford: Origins and Significance

A deconsecrated medieval church, dedicated to St Oswald, sits isolated beside a possible crossing of the Rive Ouse, downstream from York. It was the site of an early well and evidence includes a fragment of the pre-Conquest cross and a possible early timber church identified through excavation in the 1980s. This paper pulls together these various disparate pieces of evidence, including patterns of landownership, a possible association with the cult of St Oswald, and looks at the wider context and significance of this former church.

Something More Than a Monument—The Long-term Sustainability of Rural Historic Temples in China

The southeast part of Shanxi Province in China is a region with the highest concentration of early timber structures in the country, among which a majority are located in rural and semi-rural religious spaces. Social changes regarding rural population, religious demography as well as the ‘heritagisation’ process of these places of worship have presented unprecedented challenges to their long-term survival. A national campaign, the Southern Project, which lasted from 2005–2015 has facilitated a series of restoration projects in this region, covering 105 national heritage sites with pre-Yuan Dynasty structures, yet their maintenance, management and sustainable functions remain uncertain despite their improved ‘physical’ health. It also raises the question of how these (former) places of worship can be integrated into contemporary society. By analysing the data collected through reviews of the relevant legislative and administrative system and policies, interviews with various stakeholder groups, as well as on-site observations in the case region, this paper aims to identify not only the observable challenges in the long-term sustainability of religious heritage sites, but also the underlying issues situated in China’s heritage management mechanisms and systems behind, in order to pave the way for further discussions of a sustainable way forward.

Research on Wind Vibration Performance of Chinese Early Traditional Timber Structure –A case study of the Main hall of Tianning Temple

In order to study the wind vibration performance of Chinese early traditional timber structure, the main hall of Tianning Temple in Jinhua of Zhejiang province was taken as an example. Firstly, based on the precise geometric information acquired by 3D laser scanning, the calculation model of the main hall was built by the finite element software of SAP2000, and its dynamic characteristics were analyzed. Then, the time history curves of fluctuating wind speed and fluctuating wind pressure based on AR model was generated by the software of MATLAB. The generated wind pressure was applied to the FEM model and analyzed. The results show that the top ten natural frequencies of this structureare among 3.617 Hz～18.672 Hz. The wind vibration response of this structure is mainly influenced by the top four natural modes. The wind vibration coefficients obtained by the time history analysis of wind pressure are 1.1~1.5 times of the wind vibration coefficients calculated according to the Chinese current load code. These results can provide a reference for analysis of wind vibration performance of Chinese early traditional timber structure.

Improving the use of early timber inventories in reconstructing historical dry forests and fire in the western United States: Comment

Improving the use of early timber inventories in reconstructing historical dry forests and fire in the western United States: Comment

Improving the use of early timber inventories in reconstructing historical dry forests and fire in the western United States: Reply

Improving the use of early timber inventories in reconstructing historical dry forests and fire in the western United States: Reply

Improving the use of early timber inventories in reconstructing historical dry forests and fire in the western United States

AbstractEarly timber inventories in dry forests of the western United States offer detailed data sets that might provide historical information to guide restoration and preparation for future forests, but inventories have errors, biases, and limitations. We reviewed early documentation of errors and estimated errors by comparing inventory estimates to nearby tree‐ring and plot estimates. In a case study in the Greenhorn Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, California, we studied how selection and use of evidence affects findings and compared timber‐inventory, land‐survey, and other early evidence about historical forests and fire. Early documents showed inventories were unreliable, often with large underestimation errors from poor visual estimates, requiring correction multipliers of 2.0–2.5. Comparing inventory estimates to tree‐ring estimates, we found commonly used two‐chain‐wide inventories required correction multipliers of about 1.4–3.2, consistent with, but wider than the 2.0–2.5 range. These needed corrections were not applied in any study. The case study showed (1) tree‐density estimates from narrower one‐chain‐wide inventories could be more accurate, (2) data are often available, but unused, that provide quantitative evidence about historical high‐severity fires consistent with nearby historical reports, and (3) differences in forest structure between inventories and land surveys may be explained by tree growth, stand development, and especially a significant fire. Our review also documented biased placement of inventories in merchantable timber, often excluding younger forests, chaparral, and other indicators of preceding mixed/high‐severity fires. We found added significant bias introduced by omitting areas burned in mixed/high‐severity fires, or by missing evidence of these fires on parts of forms or associated archival materials. Use of early timber inventories could be improved by (1) avoiding use of unreliable two‐chain‐wide inventories or applying correction multipliers to inventory estimates, (2) completing an accuracy test of one‐chain‐wide inventories, (3) locating and using notes, maps, and other data about small trees and high‐severity fires often available in inventory archives, or omitting conclusions about these, (4) deriving an envelope model of inference space for inventories, and (5) specifying a large area, then including all available inventory data within it, or using unbiased selection criteria. These improvements could help bring timber‐inventory data into congruence with other historical sources.

Interactions of baseflow habitat constraints: Macroinvertebrate drift, stream temperature, and physical habitat for anadromous salmon in the Calapooia River, Oregon

Abstract The Calapooia River in western Oregon supports a small winter steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population and historically supported spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Early timber harvesting removed the riparian forest, and log transportation practices simplified the channel. Those disturbance legacies continue to affect fish habitat by limiting shade and channel complexity, complicating conservation efforts. To evaluate juvenile salmonid rearing potential, macroinvertebrate drift, thermal regime and physical habitat were measured at eight sites in 24 km of the upper river during late summer baseflow. Overall physical habitat was simple, with few functioning instream structures or pools. During the 22‐day drift study, flows declined and maximum site stream temperatures ranged from 23.1°C at the lower end to 16.4°C 24 km upstream. Macroinvertebrate drift concentrations ranged from 0.7–13.7 ind. m−3 with biomasses from 0.02–1.23 mg m−3. Drift concentration biomass was higher upstream (P = 0.006) than downstream and declined overall (P < 0.001) during the study. Drift biomass was dominated by five taxon groups – Baetis tricaudatus, Calineuria californica, Hesperoperla pacifica, Simulium spp., and Chironomidae, which were 65% of total biomass. During twilight, total biomass and biomass of B. tricaudatus, Simulium spp., and Chironomidae (both larvae and adults) were higher. Total drift declined dramatically over the study period owing to decreases in drift concentration and a 58% decline in discharge, greatly reducing overall drift and available food resources for juvenile‐rearing salmonids. The upper catchment, both with cooler temperatures and higher food availability, provided the best conditions for juvenile anadromous salmonids to survive late summer conditions. Conservation consequences of climate change‐induced alterations in flow and temperature may further affect habitat quality for juvenile salmonids in this catchment in the coming decades.

Migration Public History: A Roundtable Discussion at the Oregon Migrations Symposium

At this public history roundtable, a group of scholars and holders of community history gathered for a discussion on public history projects related to Oregon migration. Gwen Trice, the daughter of an African American logger in Maxville, Oregon, described how the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center educates visitors on Oregon's early timber industry and the effects of discrimination. Gabriela Martínez, a journalism professor at the University of Oregon, presented a collaborative project to produce a special traveling exhibit on Latino history in Lane County, Oregon. Urban designer and architect Suenn Ho described her work as designer of Astoria's award-winning Garden of Surging Waves, a community space that invites visitors to consider the experience of Chinese Americans.

Migration Public History: A Roundtable Discussion at the Oregon Migrations Symposium

At this public history roundtable, a group of scholars and holders of community history gathered for a discussion on public history projects related to Oregon migration. Gwen Trice, the daughter of an African American logger in Maxville, Oregon, described how the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center educates visitors on Oregon's early timber industry and the effects of discrimination. Gabriela Martínez, a journalism professor at the University of Oregon, presented a collaborative project to produce a special traveling exhibit on Latino history in Lane County, Oregon. Urban designer and architect Suenn Ho described her work as designer of Astoria's award-winning Garden of Surging Waves, a community space that invites visitors to consider the experience of Chinese Americans.

Changes in phenolic acids during maturation and lignification of scots pine xylem

The content and fractional composition of alcohol soluble phenolic acids (PhA) in cells with different degree maturation and lignification in the course of early and late timber formation in the pine (Pinus sylvestris) during vegetation were studied. Phenolic compounds (PhC), extracted by 80% ethanol, were divided into free and bound fractions of PhA. In turn, the esters and ethers were isolated from bound PhA. The contents of all substances were calculated per dry weight and per cell. Considerable differences have been found to exist in both the contents and the composition of the fractions PhA on successive stages oftracheid maturation of early and late xylem. Early timber tracheids at all secondary wall thickening steps contained PhC less and free PhA more than late timber tracheids. Throughout early timber tracheid maturation, the pool of free PhA per cell declined at the beginning oflignification and then increased gradually while that of bound PhA decreased. The maturation of late timber trecheids were accompanied by the rise of free PhA pool and the diminution of bound PhA pool. In the composition of bound PhA, the ethers were always dominant, and the amount of that in early timber cells was less than in late timber cells. The cells of early xylem at all steps of maturation contained more of ester. The sum total of free hydroxycinnamic acids, precursors of monolignols, gradually decreased during early xylem lignification as the result of the reduction of the pools of p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic and synapic acids, while that of their ester rised. In the course of late xylem lignification, the pools of free p-coumaric, ferulic and, especially, synapic acids increased. Simultaneously, the amount of ferulic acid ester and synapic acid ether increased too. According to the data, lignin biosynthesis in early xylem and late xylem occurs with different dynamics and the structure of lignins of two xylem types might be different too.

Secondary forests as temporary carbon sinks? The economic impact of accounting methods on reforestation projects in the tropics

Tropical forestry is often not competitive with agricultural land uses such as pasture for cattle ranching. Additional revenues from carbon sequestration generated by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol can change this situation. In three different zones of north-western Ecuador, minimum compensation payments for carbon sequestration were determined, which would make reforestation a feasible land-use alternative. Based on our findings that these minimum prices depend on the net benefit of the respective land-use alternatives, and on the accounting regimes for CDM sink projects, we applied the accounting rules for temporary and long-term Certified Emission Reductions (CER) to two reforestation projects: forest plantation and natural regrowth of secondary forest. A comparison of these alternatives showed that secondary forest is an attractive alternative under both accounting regimes because of its low establishment costs and relative early timber revenues. After identifying the zone most suitable for carbon sink projects, we calculated net benefits of land-use changes in the event that certain prices for emission reductions were actually paid. We found that secondary forest becomes economically attractive, if the price of permanent credits is above $4.5/tCO 2, whereas forest plantations require permanent CER prices of $7.0/tCO 2. In both cases, the results are within the price margins forecasted by various institutions for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The presented methodology is meant to support the decision making process on the supply side of a future CER market. Opportunity costs of land-use changes have to be analyzed carefully before deciding in favor of long binding forestry projects. Assigning temporary credits to naturally regrown secondary forests could–although excluded from CDM during the first commitment period–combine the advantages of a flexible accounting regime with the positive economic and ecological effects of this competitive land use.

Structural Analysis, Structural Insights, and Historical Interpretation

In studying the architecture of the past the historian may ask a number of questions to which the expertise and analytical tools of the structural engineer are relevant. They are most directly relevant to knowing how the structure stands against gravity, wind, and earthquake. But some understanding of this may also be an essential basis for approaching other questions: How and in what sequence was it built? What changes has it undergone subsequently? Why, if at some stage it partly collapsed, did it do so? What was the original form if this no longer survives and is known only through incomplete records or partial remains? How was it designed? After a look at the available analytical tools and their use both in design today and in gaining an understanding of the behavior of early timber and masonry structures, possible approaches to these questions are reviewed and illustrated. Particular attention is given to the relative merits and shortcomings of finite element analysis and purely statical analysis. It is pointed out that the seeming accuracy of the results obtained by both methods is tainted by inescapable assumptions about unknowns and the simplifications that have to be made in modeling the real structure, though not in the same ways. Modeling is crucial and calls for skillful judgment which must be based on a wide intuitive understanding. One merit of the purely statical approach is that it helps more directly in developing this understanding. The illustrations show the importance of selecting the approach that is most appropriate to the questions to which an answer is desired.

Crown Charges for Early Timber Rights: Royalties and Other Levies for Harvesting Rights on Timber Leases, Licences and Berths in British Columbia: First Report of the Task Force on Crown Timber Disposal

Crown Charges for Early Timber Rights: Royalties and Other Levies for Harvesting Rights on Timber Leases, Licences and Berths in British Columbia: First Report of the Task Force on Crown Timber Disposal

Excavations at the Medieval Village of Wythemail, Northamptonshire

EXCAVATION of a single enclosure revealed a sequence from early 13th-century timber buildings to structures with stone foundations, or completely stone-built, in the later 13th and 14th centuries. A two-roomed long-house was replaced by a more complex four-roomed long-house built on a different alignment. Also in the enclosure were a sequence of six outbuildings rebuilt in various positions. In the 13th century there were changes in property boundaries and in the 14th century a road was cut obliquely across the enclosure leading to fundamental changes in planning. Evidence for climatic deterioration was given by the increasing use of drains and of paved and cobbled surfaces in the early 14th century. Finds included metal objects, animal bones, local shelly pottery, and 12th- to 14th-century sherds from Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Some East Anglian Prototypes for Early Timber Houses in America

This article discusses the plans and constructional details of selected houses in East Anglia which immediately predate the colonization of New England in the early 17th century, and compares them with early houses in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Seven characteristics of New England timber building are identified and origins suggested for them. The carpentry joints involved are closely examined. The steady emigration to America of newlytrained craftsmen and the constant interchange of ideas through colonial trade are two possible explanations for the parallel development of constructional techniques in the two areas under discussion.

Early Timber Operations in Southeast Arkansas

Early Timber Operations in Southeast Arkansas

Forest and Adjacent Burn in the Tillamook Burn Area of Northwestern Oregon

The approximately 300,000 acre Tillamook Burn in the northern Oregon Coast Range has been the scene of three major fires. The area burned first in 1933, in a holocaustic fire that covered 244,706 acres and destroyed approximately ten billion board feet of timber (Morris, 1936). Most of the area burned again in 1939, and again in 1945. The later fires killed many patches of forest missed or subject to ground fires only in the preceding fires, and increased the total acreage by extending the boundaries at various places. Descriptions and statistics of the 1933 fire include those by Morris (1936), Isaac (1936), McArdle (1933), Cronemiller (1933) and others. The fires were exceedingly severe and entirely destroyed the forest vegetation over most of the area, with one major exception. One block of unburned timber, approximately 25,000 acres in size, remained in the center of the Burn area following the 1933 fire. The two subsequent major fires reduced this so-called green island to approximately 2,500 acres, the major reduction occurring in 1939. While there were some ground and spot fires in the edges of this remaining stand of forest, the bulk of it was free of any fire damage. This forest is now being logged. Quantitative studies of forest communities in Oregon as a whole are rare and none exist in the literature for the northern half of the Oregon Coast Range. The only records of the pre-Burn forest in this part of the Coast Range were early timber cruises. The study reported here was carried out in the summers of 1955 and 1956 to obtain information on various habitats and environmental conditions within this remaining forest and on the relative importance of its component species. For purposes of comparison, similar data were taken in adjacent areas in the Burn which had been burned only in 1945. The author wishes to thank the Stimson Lumber Company for allowing this work to be done on their holdings, and the State Forester's Office in Salem, Oregon for generous assistance in providing maps and aerial photographs, and information about the Tillamook fires. DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY OF AREA The topography in the part of the Oregon Coast Range occupied by the main Burn is rugged, consisting of narrow ridges and steep-walled valleys. The topography is highly dissected by streams which have eroded down through soft Cenozoic sandstones and around intrusive lava masses which form the skeletons of the sharp ridges. Slopes of 30? to 50? are common and the more or less level areas of the ridge tops are frequently less than '4 mile in width. General elevations of the higher points range from 2800 to 3500 feet above sea level, while the main valleys of two major streams of the area lie approximately 600-1000 feet above sea level. The area of this study lies in the southwest portion of Township 1 North, Range 6 West and in the extreme northwest portion of Township 1 South, Range 6 West, Willamette Meridian. It lies along a major ridge running south-southwest, north-northeast between the heads of two major streams, as shown in Figure 1. The ridge crest varies in elevation from 2900 to 3500 feet above sea level. Several prominent secondary ridges protrude toward the northwest and southeast at more or less right angles to the line of the main ridge. Figure 2 shows the northwest slope of the area analyzed, the general appearance of this portion of the Burn, and the relative locations of the forest and burn areas studied. The coniferous forest of the Oregon Coast Range is included in the Cedar-Hemlock association of the Coast Forest Formation by Weaver and Clements (1938), in the Pacific Douglas fir of the Cedar-Hemlock Forest by Shantz and Zon (1924), and in the Pacific Coastal Forest Formation by Boosting (1956). Over most of its area it is characterized by tall, often luxuriant forests containing such species as Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and various true firs (Abies spp.), with Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) occurring on lower slopes near the Pacific Ocean. In Oregon, this forest occurs over much of the Coast Range and the western slopes of the middle and northern Cascade Mountains. The behavior of these forest species in succession has been studied by various workers. Prob1 This work was largely supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. G-1702.