Meter Of Timber Research Articles

Conversion of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) tree stem volume to volumes of produced logging residues and wood chips

Abstract As a renewable fuel, logging residues, as well as other dendromass, are in high demand. On the other hand, they can serve as a natural fertilizer and stabilize biodiversity in forest ecosystems. Therefore, they need to be used rationally, with due care for the volumes extracted from a particular stand. The volume of logging residues is difficult to measure; thus, foresters need a tool to estimate it, ideally via a simple method based on easily measurable parameters. Conversion factors, based on tree stem volume can serve this purpose. In this study, we develop such conversion factors for thinnings of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands. First, we analyzed the relationship between the tree stem volume (ranging between 0.03 and 0.44 m3 stem−1) and the volumes of related logging residues or wood chips via linear regression and correlation analysis. Then, we assessed the significance of differences between volumes of logging residues or wood chips for trees in the five relevant stem volume classes and determined appropriate conversion factors. The conversion factors for wood chips ranged between 1.37 loose cubic meters of logging residue per cubic meter of timber in the largest stem volume class to 2.17 for the smallest stem volume class. The model, on which the conversion factors were based had a coefficient of determination of 0.88. Conversion to logging residue volume yielded factors ranging from 2.2 stacked cubic meters per cubic meter of timber for the largest stem volume class to 10.2 in the smallest stem volume class. The coefficient of determination of the underlying model was 0.69. The conversion factors are based on sufficiently accurate models and can be used in practical forestry for planning purposes, recordkeeping, and remuneration of loggers.

Chlorine and ash removal from salt-laden woody biomass by washing and pressing

Over 11 million cubic meters of timber were harvested from the coastal forests of British Columbia in 2017. For transport, the logs are usually floated in the water and towed along the coastal waters along Fraser River to sawmills. The submerged timber's chlorine content is up to 100 times higher than the timber harvested from inland. The sawmill residues leftover from cutting the salt-laden timber are unsuitable to be burned in boilers. In this study, ground sawdust, bark, and wood chips of three species: Douglas fir, hemlock, and western red cedar from the Lower Mainland, as well as spruce-pine-fir (SPF) from Vancouver Island, were washed for 5 min using tap water under constant stirring and pressed on a flat metal bed for 30 s using a mechanical hydraulic press. The chlorine content dropped from 2,000–24,000 ppm to below 700 ppm db (dry basis). The low salt biomass meets the ISO 17225-2 quality standard for wood pellets. The chlorine removal efficiency of this treatment method was 88–95%. The reduction in ash content of the washed and pressed samples ranged was 45–85% of the ash in the untreated biomass.

Availability and Applicability of Wood and Crop Residues for the Production of Wood Composites

Due to high levels of volatility in both the agricultural and the forestry commodity markets, specifically, of timber and agricultural crops, it is important to identify the risks associated with the stability of supplies necessary for the production of composite materials in the Czech Republic. This study aims to accurately estimate the availability of selected raw materials that contain lignocellulose over the next 20 years. In addition, their suitability for the production of composite materials is assessed based on their physical properties. Furthermore, in the event of scarcity involving timber in the European Union, recycled wood and post-harvest residues could replace conventional raw materials in wood-based composites such as particleboards and chipboards. The viable potential of Czech forests is predicted to be between 740 and 750 million cubic meters of timber. For agricultural crops, it is estimated at 0.9 million hectares of wheat and 0.5 million hectares of canola under the current EU biofuel policy and at 0.4 million hectares if this policy is removed. According to moisture and fibre analyses carried out in our study, the most suitable candidate for wood-based composites production is soft wood.

MAPPING DISTURBANCE FROM SELECTIVE LOGGING IN TROPICAL FORESTS OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA, MEXICO

<p><strong>Background. </strong>Mapping selective logging impacts on the Yucatan Peninsula is important to pursuing carbon emissions reduction and biodiversity conservation goals. <strong>Objective.</strong> To evaluate the effectiveness of applying remote sensing techniques using LANDSAT 8 OLI imagery to detect tropical forest disturbance from timber harvesting in four communally managed forests (<em>ejidos</em>). We further assess differences among them in terms of implementing improved forest management (IFM) and reduced impact logging (RIL). <strong>Methodology. </strong>Vegetation indices were calculated, and forest cover classification was performed to map logged and unlogged forest and specific harvest disturbances (e.g. felling gaps, skid trails, logging roads and log landings) in annual cutting areas of 2014. Accuracy assessments were conducted based on validation points collected in the field after logging. <strong>Results.</strong> We found that 75% of the binary classifications (logged and unlogged forest) had mean overall accuracies greater than 60%, representing a fair (40 to 70%) accuracy, although mapping of specific harvesting disturbances had poor accuracy (<40%). Vegetation indices that performed the best were normalized vegetation index (NDVI), Tasseled Cap Greenness and Tasseled Cap Wetness. Ejidos that applied IFM and RIL impacted a smaller percentage of their cutting areas and less area of forest per cubic meter of timber extracted, despite similar or higher logging intensities than ejidos without improved practices. <strong>Implication.</strong> Monitoring selective logging disturbance is important to improved forest management and certification of sustainability. <strong>Conclusion.</strong> Mapping and monitoring impacts from selective logging by forest managers and technicians can be performed in a cost-efficient manner using LANDSAT 8 images, although accuracy could be improved with higher resolution imagery.</p>

Economic Analysis of the Forest Promotion, Forest-Saving Program, Installed in the Southern Half of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

This study aimed to analyze economically the forest promotion, forest-saving program installed in the southern half of Rio do Grande do Sul State, Brazil, as an income alternative and potential supplier of raw material in the forest production segment. Cost data were calculated for the total of 269 projects per hectare and divided into Inputs and Services. The revenues were derived from the sale of standing timber at the end of the forest production cycle, not including harvesting costs. For economic analysis, criteria from Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit Cost Ratio (B/C), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Equivalent Annual Value (EAV) were used. The interest rate used was 7.0% per year according to the promotion program. The project presents at seven years a NPV of $542.90 and an IRR of 16.0%, showing to be feasible and attractive. The costs and revenues from the year seven planting were analyzed and with addenda at years 8, 9, and 10, demonstrated that greater project profitability gains are achieved between years 8 and 9 with an increase of $463.18 in relation to year 8. This represents a profitability of 49.0% which had an increase of $229.61 when compared to year 7. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated the inverse relationship trend that exists between the NPV and the interest rate.
 
 The project’s return capacity from the seventh year is precisely referenced by the freezing of the debt, which did not accrue an interest rate adjustment, as well as the price per cubic meter of timber, which remains readjusting as zero bases.

Лес и спички

Лес и спички

Selective logging emissions and potential emission reductions from reduced-impact logging in the Congo Basin

To estimate carbon emissions from selective logging in Central Africa, we employed the reduced-impact logging for carbon emissions reductions (RIL-C) protocol to quantify baseline carbon emissions from legal timber harvests by source (i.e., hauling, skidding, and felling). We modeled the relationships between emissions and biophysical conditions, logging practices, and forest policies and then used these models to estimate potential emission reductions from full implementation of RIL-C practices. We applied the method in 8 forest management enterprises (FMEs; i.e., concessions) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 9 in Gabon, and 6 in the Republic of Congo (RoC). Committed logging emissions expressed per cubic meter of timber harvested (to control for differences in logging intensities) ranged from 0.63 Mg C m−3 in a FME in RoC to 4.8 Mg C m−3 in a FME in Gabon, with an overall average of 2.1 Mg C m−3. Logging emissions were dominated by damage caused by road and log landing construction (i.e., hauling; 50%) and felling (43%; includes carbon in extracted logs). Total emissions represented only about 9% of unlogged forest biomass carbon stocks. Average emissions were highest in Gabon (2.65 Mg C m−3) followed by DRC (1.84 Mg C m−3) and RoC (1.54 Mg C m−3). Emissions from concessions certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC, N = 6) and those that were not certified (N = 17) did not differ. Nearly half (51%) of logging emissions could be avoided without reducing timber yields if all best examples of RIL-C logging practices observed were applied in the same FME. At the country level, if all FMEs were to utilize these practices, emissions reductions would be 34% in RoC, 45% in DRC, and 62% in Gabon. When combined with country-level logging statistics, emissions from selective logging as currently practiced in the six countries of the Congo Basin are equivalent to 40% of the region’s total emissions from deforestation.

Informing transport infrastructure investments using TraNSIT: A case study for Australian agriculture and forestry

Transport infrastructure is essential to moving over 85 million tonnes of agricultural products and 30 million cubic metres of timber from farms and production areas to domestic and international markets each year in Australia. Agriculture supply chains in Australia are characterised by long distances with transport costs accounting for up to 40 percent of the market price. Targeted infrastructure investment and/or regulatory changes can substantially reduce transport-related logistics costs. To provide a comprehensive view of transport logistics costs and benefits due to infrastructure investments and regulatory changes in agriculture and forestry supply chains, CSIRO developed a computer-based tool – the Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TraNSIT). TraNSIT optimises transport routes for upto hundreds of thousands of enterprises and millions of vehicle trips between farms and their markets, providing information on routing to maximise cost efficiencies. Through an Australian Government initiative, TraNSIT was applied to over 30 commodities representing 98% of Australian agricultural and plantation forestry volume transported by road and rail. TraNSIT is now a comprehensive logistics tool that has been applied to the largest agricultural supply chain dataset ever assembled in Australia. This paper provides an overview of TraNSIT, its adaptation to agriculture and forestry logistics as part of the project, and its application to several case studies in Australia including new road links, rail versus road and flooding.

The Garden Palace: Building an Early Sydney Icon

The Garden Palace: Building an Early Sydney Icon

Temporal Decay in Timber Species Composition and Value in Amazonian Logging Concessions.

Throughout human history, slow-renewal biological resource populations have been predictably overexploited, often to the point of economic extinction. We assess whether and how this has occurred with timber resources in the Brazilian Amazon. The asynchronous advance of industrial-scale logging frontiers has left regional-scale forest landscapes with varying histories of logging. Initial harvests in unlogged forests can be highly selective, targeting slow-growing, high-grade, shade-tolerant hardwood species, while later harvests tend to focus on fast-growing, light-wooded, long-lived pioneer trees. Brazil accounts for 85% of all native neotropical forest roundlog production, and the State of Pará for almost half of all timber production in Brazilian Amazonia, the largest old-growth tropical timber reserve controlled by any country. Yet the degree to which timber harvests beyond the first-cut can be financially profitable or demographically sustainable remains poorly understood. Here, we use data on legally planned logging of ~17.3 million cubic meters of timber across 314 species extracted from 824 authorized harvest areas in private and community-owned forests, 446 of which reported volumetric composition data by timber species. We document patterns of timber extraction by volume, species composition, and monetary value along aging eastern Amazonian logging frontiers, which are then explained on the basis of historical and environmental variables. Generalized linear models indicate that relatively recent logging operations farthest from heavy-traffic roads are the most selective, concentrating gross revenues on few high-value species. We find no evidence that the post-logging timber species composition and total value of forest stands recovers beyond the first-cut, suggesting that the commercially most valuable timber species become predictably rare or economically extinct in old logging frontiers. In avoiding even more destructive land-use patterns, managing yields of selectively-logged forests is crucial for the long-term integrity of forest biodiversity and financial viability of local industries. The logging history of eastern Amazonian old-growth forests likely mirrors unsustainable patterns of timber depletion over time in Brazil and other tropical countries.

Carbon emissions from tropical forest degradation caused by logging

The focus of land-use related efforts in developing countries to reduce carbon emissions has been on slowing deforestation, yet international agreements are to reduce emissions from both deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The second ‘D’ is poorly understood and accounted for a number of technical and policy reasons. Here we introduce a complete accounting method for estimating emission factors from selective timber harvesting, a substantial form of forest degradation in many tropical developing countries. The method accounts separately for emissions from the extracted log, from incidental damage to the surrounding forest, and from logging infrastructure, and emissions are expressed as units of carbon per cubic meter of timber extracted to allow for simple application to timber harvesting statistics. We applied the method in six tropical countries (Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Indonesia, and Republic of Congo), resulting in total emission factors of 0.99−2.33 Mg C m−3. In all cases, emissions were dominated by damage to surrounding vegetation and the infrastructure rather than the logs themselves, and total emissions represented about 3–15% of the biomass carbon stocks of the associated unlogged forests. We then combined the emission factors with country level logging statistics for nine key timber producing countries represented by our study areas to gain an understanding of the order of magnitude of emissions from degradation compared to those recently reported for deforestation in the same countries. For the nine countries included, emissions from logging were on average equivalent to about 12% of those from deforestation. For those nine countries with relatively low emissions from deforestation, emissions from logging were equivalent to half or more of those from deforestation, whereas for those countries with the highest emissions from deforestation, emissions from logging were equivalent to <10% of those from deforestation. Understanding how to account emissions and the magnitude of each emissions source resulting from tropical timber harvesting practices helps identify where there are opportunities to reduce emissions from the second ‘D’ in REDD.

Disponibilités en biomasse ligneuse en forêt, dans les peupleraies et dans les haies pour les différents usages du bois

Cet article presente une evaluation des quantites de bois qui pourraient etre exploitables dans les forets francaises, les peupleraies et les haies pendant la periode 2007 a 2020. Dans un premier temps, les quantites disponibles brutes de bois, c’est-a-dire avant deduction des differentes consommations actuelles, ont ete evaluees en appliquant des scenarios sylvicoles de reference a l’ensemble des placettes de l’Inventaire forestier national, en fonction de leurs caracteristiques (essence, structure, fertilite, âge, volume a l’hectare observe). Les consommations actuelles ont ete retranchees a ces quantites. Elles ont ete estimees grâce a l’enquete annuelle de branche « exploitation forestiere » pour l’industrie, et a une estimation de la consommation de bois de feu par les menages. Il en ressort une disponibilite supplementaire de plus de 28 millions de metres cube de bois par an pour la bioenergie ou pour la trituration, et de pres de 15 millions en bois d’oeuvre, majoritairement en feuillus.

Growing trees: risks and rewards for society

Forests provide 1.75 billion cubic meters of timber each year and a similar amount of fuel wood. Our understanding of forest ecosystems is far from complete. Biotechnology can provide means to speed up adaptation by forest species in response to pathogen introduction, climate change, or other perturbations. Consensus building on forest issues is always likely to be difficult, as diversity in the nature of forests and their cultural and historical significance must be recognized. The potential risks and possible benefits of deploying or choosing not to deploy forest biotechnology products must be considered on a case-by-case, product- rather than process-driven basis for rational, evidence-based decisions to be reached. Aspects of ecologically neutral field trials, ecological and social perceptions of risk, and steady state and dynamic paradigms of nature are discussed alongside challenges facing biotechnology in adequately avoiding or limiting risks to allow deployment in forests.

The Millennium Tower in Magdeburg

The Millenium Towe r in Magdeburg, Germany, was built in 1999. It is possibly the biggest wooden tower of the world. The dissymetric «slanting» tower is 60 meters high, the foundation is 70 meters by 50 meters, and the size is 61000 cubic meters. The panelling is made of glass fabric. On the whole 5500 cubic meters of timber was used. On its 8030 square meters the tower houses a big exhibition about the history of mankind and scientific development.

Erwartungen der Holzwirtschaft an das neue Holz-Förderprogramm des Bundes – Partnerschaftliche Arbeit in fünf Richtungen | The Timber Industry's Expectations of the Confederation's New Timber Promotion Programme – Five Areas for Potential Partnership

The Swiss forest- and timber industry has detailed five key development areas for the coming years. These are to increase raw material production from the current annual level of 4.5 million cubic metres of timber to 6 million; to increase net product throughout the whole timber chain; to open up new markets for timber and timber products; to increase entrepreneurial competitiveness; and to make communication channels more professional, by ensuring that the end consumer market is given consistent information. The clear outlines of the Confederation's follow-on programme for timber promotion coincide to a large extent with these goals. This marks a good starting point for real co-operation between the Confederation and the Swiss timber industry.

Selecting trees for structural timber

Twenty-eight cubic metres of timber (i.e. a total of 2248 boards) cut from 108 Pinus radiata trees from two 25-year-old plantations from Canterbury and Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand were tested in tension. Within- and between-tree variations of stiffness, strength and density were examined. Comparisons between density and stiffness for selecting trees for structural timber indicated that stiffness is the better parameter for selecting superior trees within the natural population of a forest stand; and the quality and grade recovery of structural timber would be increased significantly if trees were to be selected on the basis of stiffness. These conclusions apply to both stands although regional differences are evident with the Nelson timber being somewhat stiffer.

The Effect of Stumpage Rates on Timber Recovery

Governments often sell the right to harvest timber on public land. If timber is of heterogeneous quality and timber pri ces reflect this heterogeneity, then charging a fixed stumpage rate per cubic meter of timber harvested independent of timber quality can induce the economically inefficient practice of harvesting only the best grades of timber, high-grading. Charging a lump sum that is independent of the volume of timber harvested yields the efficient choice of minimum timber quality. With competitive bidding, the lump-sum scheme extracts all of the resource rent while the stumpage rate scheme leaves some rent in the forest.

Sustained yield, stand structure, and non-wood options after 110 years of logging in a New South Wales blackbutt forest

Summary The history of forest management and logging regulation in New South Wales is reviewed from 1839 as a preamble to a case study analysis of three decades of measurement data (1960–1990), from over 300 continuous forest inventory (CFI) plots, located in a north coast blackbutt forest. The plots are located in 22 865 hectares of blackbutt forest in Kendall Management Area (KMA) on the north coast of NSW, where logging has been continuous for 110 years (1880–1990), timber yields have been recorded for the last 70 years of logging, and stand volume, stocking and tree size distribution have been monitored over the last 30 years of logging. The objectives and progress of management practices, aimed at balancing wood yield against growth, and re-ordering stand stocking and size distribution to a predetermined plan are reviewed. Some future management options, including that of ecologically sustainable development, are canvassed. Although more than 1 000 000 cubic metres of timber were harvested from the K...

The recent Ips typographus outbreak in Norway ‐ experiences from a control program

During the period 1971‐81 there were severe outbreaks of the bark beetle Ips typographus in southern Norway that damaged trees equivalent to 5 million cubic metres of timber. The outbreaks were caused partly by an extensive windblow and partly by drought. Trap trees were used until 1979, when pheromone‐baited traps were introducted as part of an extensive control program. The various aspects of this program are outlined and problems of scientific, technological, economical‐administrative and informative character are discussed. Possible explanation for the decline of the epidemic after 1980 is presented and the main conditions which must be fulfilled for achieving successful mass trapping of insect pests are listed.

Wildscape: forestry, scenery and wildlife

Philip Nicholl's paper was concerned with the specialist field of how to grow two cubic metres of timber where only one grew before. Lord Dulverton, a practising forester, now places timber growing into a wider context: landscape evolution and habitats for wildlife. Lord Dulverton is well known for his integrated view of rural land uses through his practical activities, writings, broadcasting and speeches in the House of Lords. Among his many forms of public service are his presidencies of the Timber Growers Organisation (1976–8), and the British Deer Society (1973), his chairmanship of the Forestry Committee of Great Britain (1978–80), his trusteeship of the World Wildlife Fund (UK) and his membership of the Scottish Advisory Committee to the Nature Conservancy Council (Guest Editor's introduction).