Wood Supply Research Articles

Modelling and evaluating wood supply chain resilience factors based on system dynamics

With global ecological problems and uncertainties in the international economy, the resilience of the wood supply chain is becoming important for the sustainable development of the wood industry. Heilongjiang Province is a key region for wood production and consumption in China. However, it faces many internal and external challenges in its wood supply chain. This paper uses a system dynamics method to build a wood supply chain model for Heilongjiang Province with Anylogic. It includes resilience factors from infrastructure, economic, and ecological perspectives. The goal is to find the system’s dynamics and how different factors influence and interact with each other. The results show that relying on overseas raw materials makes supply chain management more difficult. Logistics information platforms are essential for better coordination. The manufacturing sector does not respond well, so improving manufacturing efficiency is necessary to increase the system’s efficiency. The sales sector is affected by changes in market demand. Balancing the consumption of domestic and international customer groups can help stabilize production and sales. This study explains the current situation of the wood supply chain in Heilongjiang Province. It provides a theoretical basis for regional wood supply chain management and offers useful insights for improving supply chain resilience in other similar regions.

Digital technologies for precise carbon balancing in timber procurement

Abstract Detailed tracking of all relevant– natural and man-made– activities in the forest enables real-time monitoring of carbon dynamics, providing immediate feedback on the carbon impact of specific forestry operations. Carbon is sequestered and emitted at many points along the wood supply chain as well as its upstream and downstream processes. The spatial, technical, and organizational aspects of the associated process steps are very heterogeneous, making them complex to capture in the real world and in the information world. This article initially provides an overview of digital technologies for precise carbon balancing in timber procurement. We then show how to use these technologies to capture and consolidate data at the stem section level to enhance the precision of carbon accounting. This granular approach allows for detailed accounting of carbon sequestration and emissions, which is crucial for developing effective carbon management strategies. We propose technical building blocks and an architecture to consider this in an integrated approach. The architecture is based on Digital Twins to individually acquire data with Internet of Things technologies for networking. Data sovereignty among the participating stakeholders is ensured through a dataspace approach yielding a “Dataspace Forestry 4.0”. Integrated human-machine interfaces give stakeholders access to relevant data, and simulation technologies allow them to explore process variants to support decision-making.

Automated Waste Paper Recycling System for Sustainable Product Creation

Any large institution will readily admit to producing a significant amount of waste paper, but this is especially true of educational institutions like schools and universities. Additionally, recycled paper can be used effectively for craft sheets, registers, paper cups, paper plate and other purposes. Recycling the discarded papers makes more sense than throwing them in the trash. This will guarantee the institute's contribution to environmental conservation in addition to helping it save money. The creation of an automated, small-scale paper recycling factory that can be utilized in universities and schools guarantees an inexpensive, simple process for producing paper goods. As a result, the machine unit's design has been created with all required component requirements. In contrast to its present annual consumption of 16 million tons, paper consumption in India is predicted to increase by 6-7% over the next five years, reaching 30 million metric tons. in 2026–2027. Approximately 1.45 lakh metric tons of solid trash are produced in India each. year, of which 35% is dry garbage made up of 21% waste paper and cardboard. One of the most significant goods that humans have ever created is paper. Pulp fiber are the main source of raw materials used in the manufacture of paper. Paper recycling is the process of breaking down and reusing used paper to make new paper products without endangering forests or trees. Recycling paper reduces operation and capital costs while preserving the supply of raw natural wood.

Leveraging system-integrator for better wood supply chain coordination through advanced planning

Natural and extensively managed forests supply raw materials to a diversified forest industry, requiring close coordination among mills when sharing the same procurement areas. One approach to enhance procurement planning process is by employing a system-integrator, a third-party organisation responsible for collaborative, fair, and neutral planning within the supply chain. Advanced planning and scheduling tools employing Operations Research methods can significantly improve wood procurement planning performance. This study aims to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the benefits of advanced tools on system-integrator’s decision-making. A Design Science Research approach was developed and tested with real data from a forest management company executing the annual procurement plan for 11 mills. Results indicate potential time reduction to harvest block selection and volume allocation, and transportation costs reduction by 15.44%, saving $2.16 per m³. Interviews with stakeholders confirmed that the proposed approach enhanced plan quality, planning process quality and system-integrator’s roles and characteristics.

Temperate forests can deliver future wood demand and climate-change mitigation dependent on afforestation and circularity

Global wood demand is expected to rise but supply capacity is questioned due to limited forest resources. Additionally, the global warming potential (GWP) impact of increased wood supply and use is not well understood. We propose a framework combining forest carbon modelling and dynamic consequential life-cycle assessment to evaluate this impact. Applying it to generic temperate forest, we show that afforestation to double productive forest area combined with enhanced productivity can meet lower-bound wood demand projections from 2058. Temperate forestry value-chains can achieve cumulative GWP benefit of up to 265 Tg CO2-equivalent (CO2e) by 2100 per 100,000 ha of forest (if expanded to 200,000 ha through afforestation). Net GWP balance depends on which overseas forests supply domestic shortfalls, how wood is used, and the rate of industrial decarbonisation. Increased wood-use could aid climate-change mitigation, providing it is coupled with a long-term planting strategy, enhanced forest productivity and efficient wood use.

Combining wood supply with reindeer foraging in the same forest: Evaluation of spacing and thinning strategies.

The forest land of northern Sweden is used for reindeer husbandry by the Indigenous Sámi while also being managed for wood supply. Modern forestry with dense pine Pinus sylvestris stands, maintained with high basal areas and high leaf areas, allow little light to reach the ground and the lichen cover. Finding sustainable forest management for low-productivity pine sites that combine lichen cover habitats with economically viable wood production is an urgent need. In this study, we compared pine regenerations resulting in 600, 1200 and 1800 trees per hectare when the stand reached a height of 10 m. In addition, we examined the effects of two thinning strategies: business as usual (BAU) follows thinning guidelines currently used in Swedish forests, whereas combined wood and lichen (CWL) features repeated heavy thinnings throughout the rotation. Results showed reduced production but a relatively small decline in economy in the CWL strategy compared to BAU, despite a large reduction in basal area. In addition, CWL resulted in larger but fewer trees per hectare which may also benefit biodiversity and the recreational use of the stands.

Cedrus atlantica - Possible Alternative Tree Species under Changing Climate Conditions in Central Europe

The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible and affect entire ecosystems and their services. Following more frequent dry years and the invasive spread of harmful organisms, interest in drought- and frost-tolerant alternative tree species in forestry practices is growing. The two cedar species, Atlas and Lebanon cedar are discussed as possible alternative tree species in Bavaria and Germany due to their high climate tolerance (drought and frost), wood quality and their potential to be integrated into local forests. Both cedar species can contribute to the stability of weakened spruce and pine forest stands and thus ensuring the supply of conifer stem wood in the long term. As there is hardly any cultivation experience in Bavaria so far, potential alternative tree species should be evaluated through provenance and practical cultivation trials. Particular attention should be paid to the origin of the forest reproductive material (FRM), as this plays a decisive role in adaptability and successful cultivation. The suitability and vitality of seed stands should be evaluated before use. In addition to evaluating the phenotype, it is essential to assess the genetic diversity and differentiation of plantations and populations within their natural distribution range. In this study 467 Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex Carrière tress from 11 populations were sampled and genotyped based on 15 variable nuclear microsatellite markers. Results showed that the applied markers are able to clearly differentiate between C. atlantica and C. libani. Genetic diversity varies among sampled C. atlantica populations and clear differentiation of C. atlantica from France and Morocco was found. Based on our results, all investigated Atlas cedar populations can be proposed as seed stands and conservation units. Future studies should include the Atlas cedar populations from Algeria.

A Pythagorean Fuzzy Approach to Identify and Prioritize Factors Affecting Import Decisions in Wood Supply Chain

Wood is a highly sought-after commodity traded internationally to meet the global demand for building materials, furniture, and paper products. The decision-making process for wood imports is intricate and influenced by various factors. Prioritizing these factors helps decision-makers allocate resources, time, and attention efficiently and make well-informed and strategically effective decisions. This study proposes an interval- valued Pythagorean fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based decision-making framework to identify and analyze factors influencing wood import decisions. With the aim in mind, four main factors are determined: “economic factors”, “political factors”, “material-related factors”, and “market factors”. Each main factor has four sub-factors. The interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy AHP method reveals the weight of each factor based on experts’ perspectives. According to the results, the most important main factor is “economic factors”. The sub-factors with the highest local importance are: “supply chain and logistics management” in the “economic factors” group, “political stability” in the “political factors” group, “wood species” in the “material-related factors” group, and “demand and demand trends” in the “market factors” group. The global weights show that the most important sub-factors are “supply chain and logistics management”, “political stability”, and “wood species”. The model’s robustness is assessed through sensitivity, validity, and comparative analyses, and high stability is observed in the ranking of the factors.

Adding Value to Wood-Based Products: A Systematic Literature Review on Drivers

The term “added value” is frequently used by stakeholders in the forest wood sector. However, beyond its intuitive meaning, what does “added value” mean in economics, and what are the main ways of adding value to wood-based products? To answer these questions, a theoretical framework of the concept of “added value” and an overview of its main applications within wood supply chains are provided. Subsequently, the results of a systematic literature review are reported. A total of 1974 primary research articles published in English in the last decade were collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The main objectives were to understand how the “added value” concept is addressed, determine which wood-based products are studied, identify how value is added, and ascertain the main consequences. The analysis of the 111 selected articles showed that the term “added value” is often used as a label rather than a clearly defined concept. Improved production processes and the valorisation of raw materials were found to be the main methods of adding value to wood-based products, while environmental benefits emerged as the most frequent objective. The findings may serve several purposes, such as identifying research needs, guiding industrial innovation, and informing policy makers, helping to implement measures that really benefit wood supply chains. Building on this study, future research could explore how added value is perceived and implemented by forest enterprises, wood industries, policymakers, and other stakeholders. This would provide a broader reference framework for applying the concept of added value.

The state of logging businesses in North and South Carolina in 2022

ABSTRACT The challenges and changes that logging businesses face impact the whole wood supply chain, making it relevant to gather timely information about them. Logging business surveys have been taking place for several decades in various states across the United States of America and have played a vital role in documenting the status of the logging industry and the challenges facing business owners. Two waves of mail surveys were sent to individual logging businesses across North and South Carolina between March and May of 2022. These surveys collected information related to general timber harvesting (products harvested, silvicultural operations), business information (number of workers, types of equipment, capital investment), owner demographics, and the challenges faced by the logging businesses. Data were analyzed for each state and within the different physiographic regions (Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain). Compared to the 2017 South Carolina survey, 2022 results indicate that the state has more medium-sized logging businesses today, few younger loggers entering the logging industry, an increase in the educational level of loggers, a decrease in intergenerational transfers of logging businesses within families, and a rise in the input and operational costs. This study also provides insights into the current state of North Carolina logging businesses and will serve as a baseline for the future. Results from North Carolina indicate 31% of loggers are aged 60 or above, 52% represent small-sized businesses, 51% have completed high school, 27% anticipate exiting the industry by 2027, and high input and operational costs were reported as significant challenges.

Optimising the wood supply chain for enhanced furniture industry efficiency

ABSTRACT This study develops a comprehensive two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model to optimise wood supply chain in the Lithuanian furniture industry. The model addresses critical challenges, including resource scarcity, fluctuating demand, and environmental impact of wood procurement and processing. The objective is to minimise total supply chain costs while incorporating sustainability practices and ensuring operational efficiency. The study uses data sourced from Lithuanian forestry records and industry reports, including variables such as wood volume, quality, and weather conditions. The model integrates advanced optimisation techniques, including decomposition algorithms, to manage computational complexity under uncertainty. Key findings reveal significant improvements in cost efficiency and sustainability compared to traditional models. The proposed approach reduces resource wastage and improves flexibility by accounting for uncertainties in demand and supply, achieving a reduction in computational time and a smaller cost deviation. Policy implications underscore the importance of adopting sustainable and data-driven supply chain practices to align with global trends towards carbon reduction and resource optimisation.

Mapping Coverage and Typology Based on Function and Spatial Configuration of Forests in Latium Region, Central Italy

Among the land use–land cover products, tree cover maps are essential tools for assessing forest functionality and ecosystem services, and implementing sustainable forest management. By combining open-source and ancillary high-resolution cartographic datasets, this study aims to map trees and forests in the Latium region in central Italy, highlighting their spatial configuration, function, and forest typology. The main findings show that trees cover 44.2% of the regional land area. Forests cover 508,056 ha, forming the core matrix of the Latium mountain landscape, providing significant ecological and socio-economic value for forest management and the regional wood supply chain. Although trees outside the forest represent only 3.1% of regional tree cover, they play a crucial role in enhancing ecological connectivity and landscape resilience. Approximately 2% of the tree and forest cover occurs in urban areas, contributing significantly to climate regulation and air quality in densely populated environments. The dominant forest types in Lazio include Turkey oak, temperate broadleaf, beech, downy oak, and Holm oak, which together account for 58.6% of the total tree cover. The accuracy tests confirm the feasibility of using open-source data for reliable, cost-effective forest mapping. Regular updates of these maps can support continuous monitoring and promote sustainable forest management practices.

Future Wood Availability in Europe in Light of Climate and Energy Policy and Geopolitical Developments—A Wood Resource Balance-Based Assessment

The amended European Union (EU) Renewable Energy Directive—in aiming to increase the share of renewable energy in overall energy consumption—promotes an increased demand for wood, while the EU’s updated Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation sets ambitious, binding national targets for the increase in net greenhouse gas removals that could restrict the supply of wood. Additionally, the ongoing war in Ukraine has directly affected the availability of woody biomass in Europe through the EU’s import ban on timber and timber products from Russia and Belarus. This paper provides an in-depth comparative analysis of sources and uses of woody biomass in four European regions in light of these recent climate and energy policies and geopolitical developments. The analysis indicates significantly underestimated reported removals in three of the four European regions studied. Further, projections suggest policy incoherence between current climate and energy objectives until 2030 in all four regions, as fellings increase at a faster rate than net annual increment in all four regions, decreasing the forest carbon sink and thus making it all but impossible to reach the 2030 target of the LULUCF regulation. However, between 2030 and 2040, energy-related fellings could decrease in regions north and west, while they could continue to grow in regions east and south, albeit at a lower rate.

Timber management for sustainable forestry in India: addressing data gaps through regional analysis

ABSTRACT Despite the critique of scientific forestry for prioritizing timber production, the dynamics of timber and wood consumption, especially at the regional level, have received surprisingly little scholarly attention. This paper critically examines the timber market in Odisha, India, within the context of sustainable forest management, a crucial sustainable development goal, namely SDG 15: Life on Land. Drawing on an empirical analysis of wood consumption and supply, we highlight a significant gap between timber demand and supply, exacerbated by insufficient data and reliance on unregulated sources. The findings emphasize the need for comprehensive data on timber flows and traceability, stronger legislative support, and the promotion of agroforestry to address these challenges at regional level and consequently the national level in India. Furthermore, the paper advocates for more regional-level research across India to better understand and manage timber markets effectively.

Trucks-to-trucks: a comparison of the raw forest products transportation industry and other forms of commercial trucking in the US South

ABSTRACT Forest products transportation in the US South is an essential component of the wood supply chain connecting raw materials with manufacturing facilities. Owners and operators of log trucks face many challenges to business success. This review analyzed variables associated with owning and operating commercial trucks in the United States to compare raw forest products transportation and general trucking applications. The variables for both log trucks and general trucking included fuel costs, fuel economy, insurance, driver characteristics and availability, driver wages, truck and trailer configurations, fleet characteristics, weight limits, and safety. Log trucks were approximately 5 years older than other commercial trucks and operated in smaller fleets of 5–10 trucks. The smaller size of log truck fleets often placed them at a disadvantage to larger carriers in insurance and fuel costs, with smaller fleets having less opportunity to buy fuel in bulk and paying 0.006–0.025 USD more per kilometer for insurance than larger fleets. Knowledge gaps include inadequate estimates of the number of log truck operators and limited information related to log truck transportation costs. Continued research into challenges faced by log truck owners is critical to better understand the industry and identify solutions to profitability challenges.

Log End Face Feature Extraction and Matching Method Based on Swin Transformer V2

This study proposes a novel log end face feature extraction and matching method based on Swin Transformer V2, aiming to address limitations in accuracy and speed faced by traditional deep learning models, like InceptionResNetV2 and Vision Transformer. Accurate log identification is crucial for forestry and wood supply chain management, especially given the growing reliance on timber imports to meet industrial demands in construction, furniture manufacturing, and paper production. Our dataset comprises images of coniferous timber, specifically Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), reflecting its significance as an essential imported resource in China’s timber industry. By leveraging Swin Transformer V2 as the backbone, our method enhances feature extraction and achieves a significant accuracy improvement from 84.0% to 97.7% under random rotation angles while reducing the average matching time per log to 0.249 s. The model was evaluated under fixed and random rotation augmentations, and the results demonstrated Swin Transformer V2’s superior clustering ability, as confirmed by t-SNE visualization. Unlike InceptionResNetV2, the proposed model maintains high accuracy and efficiency even as the feature database size increases, making it suitable for large-scale applications. This approach provides a more accurate and efficient solution for log end-face recognition, supporting the development of high-throughput wood identification systems critical for forestry automation and the global timber trade.

The analysis on forest farmers’ intention to participate in construction of the National Reserve Forest Project and its driving factors

The construction of the National Reserve Forest Project is the fundamental measure to alleviate the contradiction between national wood supply and demand and maintain national ecological security and wood security. This study analyzed the forest farmers’ intention to participate in the project and its driving factors. It provides a scientific basis for mobilizing forest farmers’ enthusiasm for continuous participation, improving their sense of gain, and realizing the established goals of constructing the National Reserve Forest Project. Based on the planned behavior theory, this study built a driving factor model regarding participation intention. From February to April 2022, forest farmers in the National Reserve Forest Project implementation area in Guizhou Province were selected as research objects for the questionnaire survey. A binary logistic regression model was used to verify and investigate the forest farmers’ participation intention and driving factors. Among the behavioral attitudes, income from participation in forest land transfer had a significant and positive correlation with concerns about forest use change. In the subjective norms, the study found a significant positive correlation between the degree of self-determination of forest farmers in participating in the project and the level of support from local government, village collectives, previously participating villagers, and family members. In perceived behavior control, qualification for project participation and acceptance of participation risk have a significant and positive correlation. The model based on planned behavior theory can well explain and predict the forest farmers’ intention to participate and driving factors. Currently, most forest farmers have a strong sense of intention to participate in the National Reserve Forest Project. Economic benefits, partners’ support in participation, guidance from superiors, and participation risk are important driving factors.

A spatial accessibility framework for mapping the mismatch between wood supply and demand across Europe

A spatial accessibility framework for mapping the mismatch between wood supply and demand across Europe

Hrad a panstvo Šášov v období habsburskej komorskej správy

The Šášov (Sachsenstein) domain was one of the state dominions in the Lower Hungarian mining district, i.e. in present-day Central Slovakia, that were integrated in the complex of state mining enterprises from the late seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. These state estates became an important economic basis for whole mining district under the Habsburg control, especially in supplies with wood, charcoal, beverages, and victuals. The Šášov castle and dominion had been acquired in 1676 –1678 from the impoverished noble Lippay family and was utilized for economic needs of state enterprising in the precious metal production since then. Until the 1770s, the Šášov castle was used as a granary and the residence of domain administration was situated in the Ladomer manor house. The most profitable cameralistic projects on this state domain that are investigated in this paper represented the brewery in Šášovské Podhradie near the castle with beer production for state workers and clerks, the large taphouse for mineworkers in Štiavnické Bane (Siglisberg), and the state wood-yard in Jalná for a wood and charcoal supply of state mines and smelteries. During the eighteenth century, the integration of this domain into the system of state mining enterprising reached a highest peak.

Reforestation tax incentive impacts on financial returns of loblolly pine plantations for family forest landowners in Mississippi

Rates of return from forest plantation investments depend not only on survival and growth rates, but also costs and revenues associated with various practices. Beyond that, tax related issues are another important consideration that are often not addressed, or directly addressed at least, in forest financial assessments. Many financial assessments can be defined as “before-tax.” Forest landowners within Mississippi have the potential to reduce reforestation cost burdens through two important tax-related opportunities. The first being the Federal reforestation deduction and amortization provisions and the second being the state-based reforestation tax credit. An overabundant supply of wood in Mississippi has resulted in fairly poor pine market conditions, particularly for pulpwood stumpage. This has resulted in the likelihood of marginal returns for many landowners without some type of assistance. Beyond that, substantial inflation and increases in fuel costs have resulted in greater reforestation costs plus additional reductions in stumpage values, among other reasons, because of greater costs for loggers during forest harvesting operations. The impacts of these two income tax reduction opportunities on loblolly pine financial returns were examined for three planting densities of 1,122 and 1,282 and 1,495 seedlings ha-1 for a site index 19.8 m site (base age 25). A combination of chemical and mechanical site preparation was conducted and mass control pollinated (MCP) bareroot seedlings were hand-planted. Varying degrees of rectangularity were assumed, reducing reforestation costs. A first-year herbaceous weed control treatment was implemented but no thinnings and fertilization treatments were conducted. A final harvest clearcut was conducted at age 26. For Federal income tax purposes, a landowner classified as an Investor within the 22% Federal income tax bracket was assumed. Whether before-tax or after-tax, the most viable planting density financially was found to be 1,122 ha-1 seedlings. Reduced reforestation costs and greater yields ha-1 of the more valuable sawlog product class were found to be more influential on landowner financial returns than any reforestation tax provisions.