Salvage of downed timber following a windstorm allows recovery of management options for landowners and wood products for industry. Because wood volumes are large and logging, transportation, mill storage, and processing capacities are limited, avoiding the selection of logs with damage can conserve those resources. Visual damage indicators are typically used to select and differentiate products, but damaged logs are still delivered to mills. Following experimental tree winching in 2021 and a tornado in 2023, we assessed lengths of broken trees with a Fakopp microsecond timer. Using a recognized defect limit (10% deviation from the maximum acoustic velocity) about 80 percent of volume in broken tops could be recovered. Standard rules of thumb applied from the end of visible damage resulted in the recovery of about 50 percent of the volume with a relatively low defect rate (<10%). Applying bucking rules developed from acoustic measurements based on distance from snap might be easier to apply and increase recovery rates to over 70 percent of broken top volume.Abstract
With the previous decade’s (2010 through 2019) greenhouse gas emissions remaining the highest on record, focus on emissions mitigation efforts is paramount. Harvested wood products (HWPs) can store carbon for various timespans depending on the product and its end uses. Life cycle inventories (LCIs) are the base for life cycle analyses (LCAs), as they represent a comprehensive catalogue of the raw data essential to complete an LCA. However, most LCI documentation is in the form of case studies of different types of HWPs, with varying LCI results that reflect varied system boundaries, case-specific conditions, and assumptions. Our goal was to conduct a systematic literature review to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize previously reported Canadian HWP data and to initiate a Canadian database based on reported cradle-to-gate HWP emission factors. HWPs were categorized as lumber, traditional structural panels, mass timber, nonstructural panels, and wood pellets. Based on our analysis, we found that softwood lumber produced the lowest cradle-to-gate emission factor (61.99 kg of CO2 equivalent [CO2eq] per m3 HWP) while I-joists produced the highest (218.55 kg of CO2eq per m3 HWP). Resource extraction emissions accounted for most of the overall emissions for softwood lumber, oriented strand board, cross-laminated timber, and glue-laminated timber. Meanwhile, manufacturing accounted for most of the emissions for plywood, I-joists, cellulosic fiberboard, particleboard, and wood pellets. Substantial gaps exist in published LCI data and, when possible, publishing detailed LCI data is encouraged to support additional HWP life cycle analyses.Abstract
Measuring energy usage in the forestry trade is a topic of great significance. In this article, we use the World Input–Output Database and the multiregional input–output model to establish an embodied energy competition network and assess the influence of global value chain (GVC) integration on competition. The results show that (1) the intensity of competition for embodied energy in forestry is higher for exports compared with imports. Additionally, the import competition network exhibits lower connectivity and overall efficiency. (2) The core regions of the competitive network are primarily found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The United States consistently maintains a competitive advantage. However, forestry policies have led to a decline in the status of the United States, (3) The hierarchical structure of export competition is more pronounced. When the weighting degree exceeds 200, this phenomenon becomes more pronounced. (4) From the perspective of GVC, positive embedding in the GVC is negatively correlated with import competition. Backward GVC embedding is positively correlated with import and export competition. On the basis of the above results, this article proposes that countries where backward embedding is the main method should actively participate in building appropriate export international associations, participating in international organizations, and building a relatively harmonious and stable export competition market, thereby helping to maintain economic development and energy environment management.Abstract
West Virginia’s forest products industry’s (FPI) contributions to the state’s economy have historically been influenced by factors such as increasing global competition, increasing automation, recessions, the shale gas boom, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are limited data regarding the impact of the pandemic on the industry and state economy. Given its importance to the state economy, it is therefore important to examine the effect of the pandemic on the industry and the state economy and its recovery postpandemic. This study quantifies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on West Virginia’s FPI from 2019 through 2022, highlighting significant recovery postpandemic. As expected, during the peak of the pandemic spanning the periods of 2019 and 2020 marked a decline in the West Virginia FPI performance across all measures of economic contributions. However, the magnitude and length of the adverse impact is not as significant as the impact of the Great Recession. The forestry sector experienced the largest decline in terms of direct and total economic contributions while the furniture sector remained relatively resilient. By 2021, the industry already experienced recovery which continued through 2022. In fact, 2022 levels were higher than the prepandemic levels except for employment and direct employee compensation. In general, most sectors of the industry have shown recovery and are even performing better than before the pandemic, except for the logging sector. The West Virginia FPI has proven its resiliency during the pandemic and capitalized on opportunities to respond to the changing demand for forest products.Abstract
To substantially reduce the risk of alien invasive species moving to new geographic areas, phytosanitary treatment of wood packaging materials (WPM) in compliance with the International Standard of Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM-15) is required by trading partners. Approved treatments include conventional heating, methyl bromide and sulfuryl fluoride fumigation, and dielectric heating (DH). The DH standard was officially adopted in 2013 but has not been practiced commercially due primarily to insufficient operational validation at commercial scale. In 2022, we converted our 50-kW radio frequency (RF) unit with a 1,200-board foot capacity from an oscillator electromagnetic field power generator to a solid-state power supply, which allows for selective power input adjustments during treatment; we also switched from a five-plate to a three-plate winged electrode system to improve heating uniformity. Each loading cycle can treat sufficient material to build ∼94 standard Grocery Manufacturers Association pallets. Our research team characterized the dielectric heating pattern and options for monitoring wood temperatures over a wide-ranging test matrix of WPM that varied by wood species, dimension, moisture content, and loading configuration. We found that this upgraded RF system markedly reduced treatment times and improved heating uniformity, allowing us to develop methods that can be used to verify compliance with ISPM-15 for improved technology transfer to industry. We also discuss the operational cost of RF treatment and make general cost comparisons to conventional heat treatment for WPM.Abstract
To manufacture and market a uniform and consistent product, the US lumber industry developed grading rules to classify their lumber. Visual grading is the most commonly applied grading system, although nondestructive evaluation (NDE) could be applied. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels produced from yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) lumber sorted by NDE and compare their bending properties in the major direction to standard published panels by the American National Standards Institutes/The Engineered Wood Association (ANSI/APA) PRG 320-2019. Ten panels were produced with dimensions of 3.75 inches thick by 18 inches wide by 120 inches long. Flatwise bending, shear block, and cyclic delamination tests were performed following ANSI/APA PRG 320-2019. The results of the bending tests indicated that the calculated characteristic values using NDE-sorted lumber resulted in a 19 percent higher bending strength (Fb) than published values in ANSI/APA PRG 320-2019 for stress-rated lumber (E1 and E4) and 35 percent higher than visually graded yellow-poplar CLT panels reported by Azambuja et al. However, the modulus of elasticity (MOE) values (1.56 by 106 psi) were lower than those listed for E1 and E4 type panels. The adhesive evaluation showed delamination in some samples located in the outer areas of the panel, indicating that proper adhesion is possible with improvements in the panel production process used in the research. Overall, the results suggest potential opportunities to utilize yellow- poplar lumber that does not meet a visual structural grade category under Northeastern Lumber Association Manufacturers’ rules by classifying and sorting the lumber according to static MOE (MOEs) values assessed using NDE.Abstract
Increasing the use of recycled paper instead of virgin wood pulp paper and plastic in green packaging has the potential to alleviate the current pressure on wood supplies, reduce the carbon footprint of consumer goods, and improve the sustainable development of the forest industry. Exploring how consumers’ environmental, carbon, and health concerns influence their preferences for different layers of green paper products can provide theoretical guidance for enhancing resource utilization and promoting sustainable development of the forest products market. This study aimed to identify consumer perceptions of green attributes, assess the impact of environmental and carbon concerns on green product preferences, and examine the significance of paper materials in various packaging layers. Utilizing conjoint, factor, and regression analyses, we investigated young Chinese consumers’ green packaging preferences, focusing on their prioritization of packaging types and the choice between recycled and regular paper over fossil-based materials. The results indicate that consumers prefer green attributes in food packaging, such as recycled paper, paper-based substitutes for plastic, and corn fiber substitutes for nylon. However, recycled paper and virgin paper have no significant difference in consumer utility. For different layers, the preference for recycled paper was slightly higher for outer packaging than for inner packaging and packaging in direct contact with food. Cognitive and affective attitudes toward recycled paper material have a positive impact on both recycled paper and paper-based plastic substitutes, while environmental concern directly influences the choice of recycled paper, and carbon concern influences consumer preferences for paper-based plastic substitutes.Abstract
Cross-laminated timber (CLT), a type of engineered wood product, is becoming widespread in the construction sector, especially for large commercial buildings. The increased demand for CLT is due its perceived benefits over conventional building materials. To effectively utilize the numerous benefits of this modern building material, there is need to ascertain its reliability as a structural material without affecting its serviceability. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate both the physical and mechanical properties of CLT and to compare the mechanical properties of CLT manufactured with hardwood of low-grade lumber and industrially made softwood CLT. Hardwood species used to manufacture CLT panels were red oak (Quercus spp.), yellow poplar (Liriodendron spp.), and sweetgum (Liquidambar spp.). Commercially manufactured southern pine CLT panels were used as control. The evaluation of density was done at a moisture content of 12 percent. All specimens were mechanically tested in accordance with ASTM D198 to determine the modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR). The range of values for both MOE and MOR found in this study are not significantly different from values reported in a previous study. Of the hardwood samples tested, 95 percent had MOE greater than minimum allowable MOE of 1.2 × 106 psi (8,274 MPa) specified for softwood CLT by the American National Standards Institute/The Engineered Wood Association performance-rated CLT. Thus, the average MOE values observed for all the CLT species can be used as a basis for design values in the construction industry for hardwood species.Abstract