Wood Supply Research Articles

Legume silvopastoral systems enhance soil organic matter quality in a subhumid tropical environment

AbstractThe silvopastoral system avoids the degradation of tropical grasslands by providing essential nutrients to the soil while improving livestock diet and farmer's income by increasing the marketable wood supply. We hypothesize that intercropping shrub‐tree legumes into signalgrass increases microbial activity and soil organic matter (SOM) quality. We investigated silvopastoral system soils over 5 yr in a subhumid climate in northeastern Brazil to determine the total C and N contents and to estimate C‐microbial biomass and respiration, microbial and metabolic quotients, humic acid (HA), and fulvic acid (FA). The experimental design evaluated (a) signalgrass intercropped with gliricidia at 0, 4, and 8 m from the center of the double legume row; (b) signalgrass intercropped with sabia at 0, 4, and 8 m from the center of the double legume row; and (c) single signalgrass. Samples were obtained after 2, 3, 4, and 5 yr from silvopastoral system implementation. The shrub‐tree legumes soils had total C (39 g kg−1) and total N (3.8 g kg−1) contents significantly higher (30 and 72%, respectively) than single signalgrass soil only on the fifth year after establishment. Microbial biomass C at 0 and 4 m from the legume's rows was 700 mg kg−1, which was 75% higher than single signalgrass soils. There was strong microbial respiration (∼50 mg C‐CO2 kg−1 d−1) in legumes soils, but the metabolic quotient did not indicate disturbance in microbial activity. The microbial quotients were significantly higher in shrub‐tree legumes soil, and the HA/FA ratio was nearly 1, demonstrating greater efficiency in SOM decomposition by microbial activity. Overall, 5 yr after establishment, the silvopastoral system has improved SOM quality and contributed to grassland sustainability.

Numerical Modeling of Instream Wood Transport, Deposition, and Accumulation in Braided Morphologies Under Unsteady Conditions: Sensitivity and High‐Resolution Quantitative Model Validation

AbstractLarge wood promotes fundamental changes in river hydraulics and morphology, playing a relevant role in river ecology but also in flood hazard. Accurate predictions of large wood dynamics in terms of deposition patterns and travel distance are still lacking and only recently have numerical models been developed to this end. In this work we enhance the capabilities of the numerical model Iber‐Wood in reproducing large wood dynamics in shallow braided rivers and validate it by comparing simulations with the results of previous laboratory experiments. The flume experiments provide high‐resolution observations of wood travel distances and depositional patterns of wood. The comparison proves useful to improve the numerical simulation of (i) the interactions between wood pieces and the riverbed (e.g., when wood pieces are transported by dragging), (ii) wood pieces with roots, and (iii) the formation of wood jams (i.e., accumulations of greater than three wood pieces). A sensitivity analysis reveals the crucial role of bed topography, with limited effect played by drag and restitution coefficients. Taking advantage of a controlled environment with similar simplifying hypotheses, we combine the strengths of both physical and numerical modeling to explore the parameters that are most effective in controlling wood dynamics. We use the numerical model to explore the effect of unsteady flow conditions, with different wood supply input. The resulting wood depositional patterns, jam formation, and travel distances during floods may improve our understanding of some of the controls on biogeomorphic evolutionary trajectories of braided rivers.

Declining wood fuel and implications for household cooking and diets in tigania Sub-county Kenya

Research on rural energy has in the past focussed on access and environmental effects. Little is however documented on the relationship between declining availability of wood fuel, household cooking and eating patterns, which ultimately impact people's nutritional status. A 2016-2017 cross-sectional survey in Tigania, Meru County in Kenya, targeting 239 respondents, showed that about 81% of the households respond to energy shortages by cooking composite meals instead of single meals, effectively reducing the number of cooking sessions per day. Further, cooking food that takes less time is preferred. Such foods, however, often have low nutritional value. Rich traditional foods that take longer to cook are soaked as an attempt to reduce their energy demand. While cooking composite meals and skipping meals saves energy and time, there are negative health impacts that can, however, be lessened by ensuring that one or two meals per day are balanced diets. Although firewood is the most important and popular energy source, it is becoming scarce. Integrated measures that guarantee a supply of wood fuel at the farm level while at the same building household capacities on energy use efficiency and balanced dieting demand national policy interventions. Ultimately, lasting solutions to declining wood fuel may lie in the adoption of energy-efficient cooking stoves and value addition on available energy options. Expanding income generation options at household levels will also make access to clean energy more possible and ultimately reduce the indignity of poor feeding habits caused by energy shortages within poor rural communities. Future research needs to also focus on increasing the shelf-life of cooked food types where households are too poor to afford refrigeration.

"Wood Security": the importance of incentives and economic valorisation in conserving and expanding forests

Tropical forest degradation is a major source of greenhouse-gas emissions, but international forest and climate policies are yet to respond decisively to this. In some regions, as a result of population growth, climate change and forest degradation, the increased need for wood, whether for timber or fuelwood, will exceed the sustainable supply capacity of natural forests and plantations, potentially accelerating deforestation processes. As with the issue of food security, a problem of "wood supply security" is emerging in several developing countries. This issue is poorly understood by most international initiatives focused on climate or biodiversity, which want to conserve forests but neglect the importance of the productive role of forests to support this conservation through their sustainable use. Solutions exist, but a number of barriers, starting with unclear tenure rights and short-sighted policy choices, prevent the large-scale deployment of these ones. Putting investment back at the forefront of the international agenda and setting the right incentives for producers is necessary to overcome these barriers and create the conditions for achieving future results sought by the "results-based payments" schemes such as REDD+, currently favoured by donors. Beyond the production side, the role of the global demand and the consumers is critical, and trade policies should evolve significantly to favour sustainable and deforestation-free productions.

Ecosystem service management and spatial prioritisation in a multifunctional landscape in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

ABSTRACT Sustaining ecosystem services (ES) is a key interest in the management of land use in multifunctional landscapes (i.e. ES that support ecosystem function and sustain human livelihoods). In making land management decisions, it is important to understand the relationships and spatial distributions of multiple ES, and the synergies and trade-offs between them. We analysed nine ES in a catchment in the Bay of Plenty region, New Zealand, to identify areas in the catchment are high (hotspots) and low (coldspots) in supplying multiple ES, the relationships among ES, and where ES trade-offs and synergies occur. We found ES hotspots occurred mainly in indigenous forest. Synergies occurred among provisioning services (milk and meat) and dis-service nitrogen leaching as well as synergies with carbon sequestration and wood supply. Trade-offs occurred between regulating services and a supporting service. We identified ES bundles (services that occur repeatedly together) of provisioning services and those associated with exotic forest. Spatial concurrences and relationships of different ES provide a way to optimise the supply of multiple ES. These results may be used to guide landscape management whereby spatial prioritisation can be used to conserve areas of high ES supply or bundles of ES.

Wood Anatomical Features and Physical Properties of Fast Growing Red Meranti from Line Planting at Natural Forest of Central Kalimantan

High productivity fast growing species plantation establishment such as the line planting of red meranti (i.e Shorealeprosula and Shorea parvifolia) with intensive silviculture is one potential solution to improve wood supply for industries in Indonesia. However, the information of anatomical properties and wood properties of these two species related to the influence of the line planting system and tree growth rate is limited. This paper studies the anatomical features, wood cell proportions, fiber dimensions and physical properties of wood in radial variation in relation to the line planting effect and tree growth rate. Wood of the trees grown in the line planting system showed higher proportion of vessel element compared to those of wood from natural forest. The vessel diameter of wood from the line planting was also larger than that of in wood from natural forest. The specific gravity of wood from Shorea parvifolia grown on the line planting was higher than that of wood grown in natural forest. The variation of specific gravity on wood portion near to the pith of Shorea leprosula and Shorea parvifolia trees grown on the line planting was related to the variation of the cell wall thickness. The bigger diameter of trees grown or the faster growth rate in the line of planting at the same age shows the greater vessel diameter in wood of Shorea leprosula and Shorea parvifolia and greater specific gravity of Shorea parvifolia wood.

Contingency Plans for the Wood Supply Chain Based on Bottleneck and Queuing Time Analyses of a Discrete Event Simulation

Wood supply chain performance suffers from risks intensified by more frequent and extreme natural calamities such as windstorms, bark beetle infestations, and ice-break treetops. In order to limit further damage and wood value loss after natural calamities, high volumes of salvage wood have to be rapidly transported out of the forest. In these cases, robust decision support and coordinated management strategies based on advanced contingency planning are needed. Consequently, this study introduces a contingency planning toolbox consisting of a discrete event simulation model setup for analyses on an operational level, strategies to cope with challenging business cases, as well as transport templates to analyze outcomes of decisions before real, costly, and long-lasting changes are made. The toolbox enables wood supply managers to develop contingency plans to prepare for increasing risk events and more frequent natural disturbances due to climate change. Crucial key performance indicators including truck to wagon ratios, truck and wagon utilization, worktime coordination, truck queuing times, terminal transhipment volume, and required stockyard are presented for varying delivery time, transport tonnage, and train pick-up scenarios. The strategy BEST FIT was proven to provide robust solutions which saves truck and train resources, as well as keeps transhipment volume on a high level and stockyard and queuing time on a low level. Permission granted for increased truck transport tonnages was evaluated as a potential means to reduce truck trips, if working times and train pick-ups are coordinated. Furthermore, the practical applicability for contingency planning is demonstrated by highly relevant business cases such as limited wagon or truck availability, defined delivery quota, terminal selection, queuing time reduction, or scheduled stock accumulation. Further research should focus on the modeling and management of log quality deterioration and the resulting wood value loss caused by challenging transport and storage conditions.

El aprovechamiento de términos a fines de la Edad Media castellana en las Comunidades de Villa y Tierra serranas: Plasencia, Béjar, Valdecorneja, Arenas, Mombeltrán y Candeleda

Tout d'abord l'utilisation de terrains pour le pâturage et ensuite l'organisation de tout le territoire de la Haute Extrémadure, monts Béjar et de Grédos en communautés, municipes et campagnes, supposa un enrichissement. Il affecta non seulement des biens communaux, mais aussi des biens municipaux et particuliers, étant donné que les dispositions municipales et seigneuriales faisaient une différence entre les habitants de la Ville et ceux de la campagne ou les vassaux d'un seigneur, en ce qui concernait l'utilisation de ces terrains pour les labours, la chasse, la pêche ou comme pâturages et ressources forestières. D'autre part, cette utilisation assurait le peuplement de cette zone.

Tree traits that define timber ideotypes of Gmelina arborea Roxb.

Gmelina (Gmelina arborea Roxb.) is the most widely planted tree species in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Its role in local wood supply becomes more important as a consequence of the ban on harvesting naturally growing timber. More than 90% of the wood supply, based on reported transactions in 2013, is gmelina. Wood is coming from different planting configurations such as solitary trees, home gardens, road sides, riparian strips, small stands, and large plantations. While gmelina appears to be the most important tree in meeting local demand for wood, the yield per hectare is low due to poor tree management and mismatch between species and site. Results indicate great potentials for tree improvement with effort coming from the tree owners themselves and supported by scientific approach in tree improvement. Research on ideotype, or conceptual model of an ideal plant, promises to play a key role. The study worked on gmelina timber ideotype. Between-tree-traits relationships were investigated in order to see what traits might be subjected for simultaneous improvement. Significant relationships came out that would lead to defining the desired tree forms. Not a single form shall come out as combination of traits may result in increased in wood yield in tree or stand.

First representative xylological data on the exploitation of wood by early medieval woodcrafters in the Polesia region, southwestern Belarus

The xylological determinations and analysis of technical properties of wood used in Early Medieval stronghold at Dawidgródek for making everyday life equipment provided insight into the selection and likely sources of wood supply for craftsmen in the Polesia region. According to our knowledge, up-till-now this aspect of human activity involving exploitation of forests for woodcraft in this area of the Kievan Rus on the border of Western and Eastern Europe, was hardly discussed. Our results, however, confirmed the use of local wood resources. The functional distribution of usable wood from Dawidgródek showed predominance of stave vessels and tools among the finds. Because mainly tangential split materials of a low technical value were used on site it is likely that knowledge of carpentry techniques was not very advanced. It was demonstrated that selection of timber was clearly associated with the way in which objects were used and was justified by technological and working properties of each species of wood. The wood of oak, elm, ash, and pine, were used mainly to manufacture large items, requiring high mechanical resistance. Turned, hollowed out and carved vessels were made of ash wood, torches and toys for children were made of pine wood while spindles were made out of euonymus. According to the previous palynological studies all of these taxa were available in the region. Our results demonstrated also the presence of imports from the Mediterranean world, controlled by the Byzantine Empire. The discoveries of combs made of the exotic wood of boxwood suggested the use of routes along the Dnieper river, through Kiev, for small scale long-distance trade in luxury goods.

Developing a fabrication workflow for irregular sawlogs

In this article, we suggest using contemporary manufacturing technologies to integrate material properties with architectural design tools, revealing new possibilities for the use of wood in architecture. Through an investigative approach, material capacities and fabrication methods are explored and combined towards establishing new workflows and architectural expressions, where material, fabrication and result are closely interlinked. The experimentation revolves around discarded, crooked oak logs, doomed to be used as firewood due to their irregularity. This project treats their diverging shapes differently by offering unique processing to each log informed by its particularities. We suggest here a way to use the natural forms and properties of sawlogs to generate new structures and spatial conditions. In this article, we discuss the scope of this approach and provide an example of a workflow for handling the discrete shapes of natural sawlogs in a system that involve the collection of material, scanning/digitisation, handling of a stockpile, computer analysis, design and robotic manufacturing. The creation of this specific method comes from a combination of investigation of wood as a material, review of existing research in the field, studies of the production lines in the current wood industry and experimentation through our in-house laboratory facilities. As such, the workflow features several solutions for handling the complex and different shapes and data of natural wood logs in a highly digitised machining and fabrication environment. This up-cycling of discarded wood supply establishes a non-standard workflow that utilises non-standard material stock and leads to a critical articulation of today’s linear material economy. The project becomes part of an ambition to reach sustainable development goals and technological innovation in global and resource-intensive architecture and building industry.

KEBUTUHAN BAHAN BAKU KAYU PADA INDUSTRI PENGOLAHAN KAYU FURNITUR (Studi Kasus PT. Rimba Mutiara Kusuma-Tanggerang)

Sustainability of wood supply is one of the important factors affecting the sustainability of the forestry industry that uses wood as its raw material. This study aims to determine how to manner supply the raw material needs as well as analyze the needs of the wood raw material and purchasing optimal wood raw material in PT Rimba Mutiara Kusuma. The method used in the research of interviews and observations where data are analyzed by qualitative and needs wood raw material by regression analysis and the calculation of purchasing optimal of raw materials with method Eqonomic Order Quantity uses quantitative analysis. The results showed that the need for raw materials in PT. Rimba Mutiara Kusuma done after a consumer orders a ordered product with raw material requirement calculations using formulas and recovery Comparing the nett volume of each product with predetermined recovery value is 45-50%. Recovery is the percentage that the company uses in calculating how cubication raw materials needed to produce each cubication finished product. The prediction results teak wood raw material requirements during the coming five years (2016-2020) obtained through analysis of time series prediction of 1089.65 m³ with an average volume of raw needs per year amounted to 217.93 m³ and predicted volume of raw material requirements mahogany of 1273,75 m³ with an average of 254,75 m³ every year. The optimal raw material purchase is 26.954 m³ teak and mahogany 27.86 m³ in every time order, the frequency 8 x with the cycle for 45 days.

Non-wood fibers as raw material for pulp and paper industry

AbstractPulp and paper industry in the world have been growing fast. As a result, there has been a massive request for pulp and paper raw materials. The raw materials used in papermaking can be classified into three groups: wood, non-wood, and recycled wastepaper. The Non-wood raw material is an important fiber resource in the regions where forest resources are limited. The current usage of non-wood plant fibers, as rice straws, corn stalks, cotton stalks, and bagasse would play a chief role in increasing papermaking raw materials. Using of non-wood plant fibers in the paper industry associated with some problems, including collection, transportation, storage and handling, washing, bleaching, papermaking, chemical recovery, supply of raw material and the properties of finished paper. Recently, a high-tech innovation in all the fields of papermaking has made non-wood more reasonable with wood as a raw material for papermaking. Although till now, use of non-wood fibers for pulp and paper manufacture was focused in countries with limited wood supply, it is now showing a growing effort even in countries with acceptable wood source due to environmental concerns. Consequently, the future of non-wood plant fibers as pulping and papermaking raw material looks bright.

Assessment of Tree Species for Fuelwood Consumption in Northern Guinea Savannah Eco-region: A Case Study of Selected Local Government Areas of Katsina State, Nigeria

Evaluation of preferred tree species for fuelwood consumption in selected local overnment area of Katsina State was studied. Random sampling techniques was used to administer thirty (30) questionnaire in each of the four (4) selected local government areas to make a total of one hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires. One hundred (100) were retrieved. The result revealed that Isoberlinia doka was the most preferred (24%) tree species for fuel consumption because of its high fire retaining capacity, low smoke and low moisture holding capacity while Cassia species and Odina barteri were the least (3% each). The major (70%) source of fuel wood supply to the market was from the forest. Funtua local government consumed more Fuelwood/head/year (64.06t/person/year) than all the other selected local government areas, while Sabuwa had the least (38.64 t/person/year). Fuelwood was the major (33%) energy source while gas (2%) was the least. Socio economic characteristics of the respondents were also examined. The percentage of male was 68%, while that of their female counterpart was 32%. Majority (50%) are married with many (35%) having 7-8 house hold size. 37% of the respondents had primary education while 26% had no formal education and majority (42%) were farmers. However, it is recommended that there is need for artificial regeneration of tree species exploited in form of woodlots, community forest plantation for continuous supply of wood on a sustainable bases and also other alternative sources of energy such as kerosene stove, gas cooker, solar etc should be encouraged and subsidized to the general populace to reduce the pressure on forest reserve.

How Well Do Stakeholder-Defined Forest Management Scenarios Balance Economic and Ecological Forest Values?

Research Highlights: We show the difference in the long-term effects on economic and ecological forest values between four forest management scenarios of a large representative forest landscape. The scenarios were largely formulated by stakeholders representing the main views on how to manage north-European forests. Background and Objectives: Views on how to balance forest management between wood production and biodiversity differ widely between different stakeholder groups. We aim to show the long-term consequences of stakeholder-defined management scenarios, in terms of ecological and economic forest values. Materials and Methods: We simulated management scenarios for a forest landscape in Sweden, based on the management objectives and strategies of key stakeholders. We specifically investigated the difference in economic forest values coupled to wood supply and ecological indicators coupled to structural biodiversity between the scenarios over a 100-year period. The indicators were net present value, harvest, growing stock and increment, along with deadwood volume, the density of large trees, area of old forests and mature broadleaf-rich forests. Results: We show that the scenarios have widely different outcomes in terms of the studied indicators, and that differences in indicator outcome were largely due to different distributions in management regimes, i.e., the proportion of forest left unmanaged or under even-aged management or continuous cover forest, as well as specific retention practices. Retention and continuous cover forestry mitigate the negative effects that clear-cut forestry has upon biodiversity. Conclusions: We found that an increase in the forest area under the continuous cover forestry regime could be a cost-efficient way to increase structural diversity in managed boreal forests. On the other hand, no single management regime performed best with respect to all indicators, which means that a mixture of several management regimes is needed to balance conflicting objectives. We also show that the trade-off between economic and ecological indicators was not directly proportional, meaning that an increase in structural biodiversity may be obtained at a proportionally low cost with appropriate management planning.

ДИНАМИКА СТРУКТУРЫ ПОСТПИРОГЕННЫХ ДРЕВОСТОЕВ СОСНЯКОВ БРУСНИЧНЫХ СЕВЕРНОГО ПРИУРАЛЬЯ (РЕСПУБЛИКА КОМИ)

Observations results of the development of cowberry pine stands on Pechoro-Ilychsky Reserve territory using the method of permanent sample plots are presented. It was established that pine stands, despite the active replenishment of their species composition with young coniferous trees, have a relatively stable supply of stem wood. It is noted that with a prolonged absence of fires, an active replenishment of the forest stand with new generations of Pinus sylvestris, Picea obovata and Pinus sibirica trees of different ages. It revealed that grassroots weak fires contribute jump regeneration of Picea obovata and Pinus sibirica that are gradually introduced into the pine stands.

Study on the Construction Planning of Forest Products Industry in Cangwu County Based on the Principles of Green Development and Circular Economy

Forest products industry is a green industry and a sunrise industry. As the largest green economy, it plays an important role in effectively alleviating the contradiction between supply and demand of wood, realizing the sustainable utilization of forest resources and realizing the development goal of circular economy. It has played a positive role in improving the ecological environment, promoting industrial agglomeration, promoting the development of related industries, and maintaining wood safety. Through scientific and technological innovation driven and industrial agglomeration, a forest products industrial cluster area integrating production and manufacturing, scientific and technological research and development, exhibition and sales will be built in Cangwu county. To strengthen and expand forest industry in Guangxi province, the level of resource utilization has been significantly enhanced, the product quality has been greatly improved, and the industrial chain has been further extended. Efforts should be made to develop the downstream furniture, wooden door, and wood flooring manufacturing industry, and also to improve the industrial scale, standardization and intensification, to strengthen the industrial innovation system, to establish the industrial chain led by leading enterprises, to create a tree shaped industrial structure, as well as to establish coordinated development. We should exhibit the modern industrial system, build the forest industry into the pillar industry of Cangwu County, turn the green water and green mountains into gold and silver mountains, and build the concentration area into the national forestry industry demonstration park in China.

Juvenile Wood from Pinus patula Schltdl & Cham for Multilaminated Panel Production

ABSTRACT Wood scarcity, attacks by primates and insects, and fungal damage in forest plantations make the introduction of new species necessary. Given this, it is important to understand the potential uses of wood in the production chain. Pinus patula Schltdl & Cham presents good adaptation to Brazilian conditions and is a candidate for wood supply. Its juvenile wood density however, is lower than that of other pine species. This study aimed to evaluate the properties of veneer on panels produced with twelve-year old P. patula wood compared with panels produced with P. taeda wood of the same age, which is commonly used for panel production. Panels were bonded with urea-formaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde adhesives using veneers applied on two types of plywood panel. The P. patula panels showed lower strength, stiffness and density when bonded with urea-formaldehyde, and higher strength, density and stiffness when bonded with phenol-formaldehyde in comparison with P. taeda. P. patula panels can be used for multilayer panel production.

Optimization of Wood Supply: The Forestry Routing Optimization Model.

The main purpose of this paper was to present the Forestry Routing Optimization Model (FRoM) as a version of the classical Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). This work approaches for wood logistic problems consisting of simple displacement and multiple displacements of trucks toward the stands. The FRoM encompasses both steps into one single integer mixed linear programming model, considering cranes and trucks schedule, fleet reduction, reduction of overtime, reduction of half-load transportation, and approaching the minimum distance traveled along a fixed planning horizon. Some technique constraints were implemented to provide accurate model function. An executed real problem data was used to compare the outcomes. The objective was to carry and transport 21,881.82 tons of lumber from 10 stands using a total of 48 trucks and 5 cranes in a planning horizon of 6 days, which each day has 20 hours of effective work. The FRoM has performed a fleet reduction of 72.92%, eliminating overtime. It has reduced the half-load trips to the order of 3.17% of all routes. The crane's analysis allowed catching points of inefficiency due to operational idleness. The FRoM provided savings of 49.12% at all logistic costs. FRoM has shown to be a good option as a route optimizer for forestry logistics.

An overview on development of environmental friendly medium density fibreboard

Medium density fibreboard (MDF) is extensively used in the construction and furniture industry, especially as building materials, household furniture, fencing and flooring because of its desirable properties such as being low cost, having excellent mechanical and physical properties and being isotropic. However, the sustainability of wood supply has become a serious environmental issue. Therefore, it is necessary to find alternative strategies in order to reduce the wood demand for producing wood-based composites such as MDF. This article reviews the various alternative materials such as wheat straw, kenaf, corn stalk, sisal and bagasse to reduce the dependency on wood in the related industries. Moreover, this article also reports on the development of environmental friendly adhesives and non-adhesive MDF to reduce the emission of formaldehyde which is a carcinogen agent and may lead to various health problems.