Forestry in bioeconomy – smart green growth for the humankind

This paper draws on the European Union's Bioeconomy Action Plan (BAP) to clarify the notion “bioeconomy” and examine how it relates to the forest sector and its current challenges. The interpretation is linked to a broader context of climate and energy policies and the ideas of green economy and green growth. It is shown that, despite its good intentions, BAP fails to link bioeconomy to the core idea of green economy and the sources of economic growth. It hardly discusses climate policies and entirely omits the land-use aspects between agriculture and forestry that are important for climate policies. An equally serious shortcoming is that BAP very vaguely recognizes the role and nature of the forest sector as a high-tech biomass utilizing sector and omits its current challenge to renew the product matrix from forest biomass as a response to the decreasing demand for paper. An overview of the topical issues in forest sector shows that it has and will have a great role in bioeconomy as a high-tech and high value-added sector producing all traditional products, bioenergy, and new forest products.     

The use of forest information in timber sales planning – a case study in a Swedish forest-owning company

Interactions between value-creating activities are vital to increasing product value. Information sharing is a cornerstone of such interactions. For a forest-owning company with the primary objective to be leading in selling roundwood to forest industries, it appears therefore crucial that the sales people within a forest company have up-to-date knowledge about the forest in planning their sales, and that the forest knowledge is presented in a format that is suitable for them. To investigate if this is the case, a study was conducted at Sveaskog, a large Swedish forest-owning company. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from different levels in the organization. The results show that most sales managers did not directly use the knowledge about the forests when planning their sales; instead, they relied on historical data and had low trust in the knowledge presented in the tactical forest plan. The study pinpoints the organizational obstacles for using forest information in sales planning. These obstacles need to be addressed if more sophisticated information made available through new technology is to be utilized.     

Influence of growth stresses and material properties on distortion of sawn timber — numerical investigation

? The board distortion that occurs during the sawing and the drying process causes major problems in the utilisation of sawn timber. The distortion is highly influenced by parameters such as spiral grain angle, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage, growth stresses and sawing pattern.

? In this study a finite element simulation of log sawing and timber drying was performed to study how these parameters interact to affect board distortion. A total of 81 logs with different material combinations were simulated. From each simulated log four boards with different annual ring orientation were studied.

? The results showed that the elastic modulus, shrinkage coefficient and growth stresses had a large influence on the final bow and spring deformation. After sawing of the log into boards, the release of growth stresses was the main contributor to the bow and spring deformation. For boards with low modulus of elasticity, the bending distortion became larger than for the boards with high modulus of elasticity. The twist deformation was very small after sawing but increased significantly during drying of the boards. The results showed that spiral grain angle and the board location within the log were the main contributors to the twist deformation.

     

Spatial integration in the Nordic timber market: Long‐run equilibria and short‐run dynamics

This study presents an econometric analysis of the spatial integration of the Nordic timber market as reflected in timber prices. The statistical model is a vector autoregressive (VAR) model with cointegration. The degree of spatial integration is tested through a cointegration analysis and a complete identification of the statistical model's long‐run structure. When the results were interpreted in terms of factor price equalization and efficient commodity arbitrages, the Nordic markets were found to be strongly integrated. The pattern of interdependence is investigated through an analysis of the model's short‐run structure and interpreted in terms of Granger causality. Finland, and to some extent Sweden, were found to act as “price‐leaders” in the long run and Denmark and Norway were very sensitive to changes in timber prices in competing countries.     

Effect of resin‐top disease caused by Peridermium pini on the volume and value of Pinus sylvestris saw timber and pulpwood

The role of the resin‐top disease caused by Peridermium pini in volume and value losses to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was surveyed in two heavily infected stands in northern Finland. Of the Scots pines, 26% were infected by the disease. Peridermium pini caused 2% volume losses to saw timber trees and 3% volume losses to pulpwood trees in the stem‐lesion class and 10% and 14% in the dead‐top class, respectively. The disease caused saw timber volume losses to saw timber trees of 34% and 22% in the stem‐lesion and dead‐top class, respectively. However, saw timber volume losses increased the pulpwood volume in both disease classes. The disease reduced the marketing value of saw timber trees and pulpwood trees by 18% and 3% in the stem‐lesion class and by 15% and 14% in the dead‐top class.     

Salt marshes – present functioning and future change

Salt marshes are no longer viewed as intertidal wastelands of little value to anyone. They are now widely recognised as playing a major role in coastal defence, in wildlife conservation on the coast and as a key source of organic material and nutrients vitally important for a wide range of marine communities. This appreciation of the importance of salt marshes has been brought even more sharply into focus because of the threats posed by predicted rise in sea level as a result of global climatic change. Three decades ago the possibilities of exchanges of organic matter between salt marshes and the sea were already being recognised in certain areas but it is only in the past five years or so that this process has been studied in a wide range of different areas. Detailed studies have been made into the way that salt marsh fluxes change with the development of increasingly mature and, therefore, increasingly complex salt marsh communities. As well as being sources and sinks of mineral nutrients and organic matter, salt marshes can also function as a sink for pollutants that would otherwise be damaging to the environment. Salt marshes also act as a sink for sediment within coastal ecosystems. Through their various functions they can be seen to be acting as dynamic living filters for various ecologically important materials. With increasing threats to the survival of salt marshes as a result of man's activities in the coastal zone being augmented by the threats from predicted sea level rise, a new approach to salt marsh conservation has come to the fore and that is the actual creation of new salt marshes. For this process to be fully effective we have to make full use of our increased understanding of salt marsh structure and function. Following a review of the current state of the art in the field of salt marsh research, an assessment is made of specific future research needs. Despite the greatly increased effort which has been directed to salt marsh research over the past few years we still have to recognise that resources are limited and, therefore, critical evaluations of the various options regarding the direction of our future efforts need to be made.     

Local factors and time‐variable parameters in tactical planning models: A tool for adaptive timber procurement planning

In solving a wood procurement problem using linear programming, one obtains a static solution that is found simultaneously, for instance, by the Simplex technique. Therefore, general linear programming is useful when dealing with large‐scale and strategical problems. By using the formulations of dynamic linear programming presented in this study, local decision makers are provided with the advantages of an approximation tool for tactical planning situations. The models were used (1) to implement a local approach to tactical planning; and (2) to consider local and time‐variable aspects of wood procurement. In particular, as an example, a local seasonal cost effect is investigated; the results obtained are compared with results obtained by conventional higher level models. Both model structures (conventional and local) covered the same wood procurement system and the same planning horizon, but the procedure developed was more flexible and suitable for multi‐stage planning at the local level. The procedure was not as efficient computationally as the conventional procedure, but future developments in the computer industry can be expected to provide more computational capacity for processing and increasing number of variables. Using the following local procedure developed, the same tactical problem could be solved with higher precision because the system is closer to reality; the magnitude of the dynamic inconsistency was diminished.     

European standards on durability and performance of wood and wood-based products – Trends and challenges

Abstract

Standardization work in the field of wood durability and preservation is managed, at the European level, by the technical committee TC 38 ‘Durability of wood and wood-based products’ of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Producing sustainable wood-based materials is challenging. A crucial aspect of their provision is reliable standards that take consideration of both the expectations of end-users and the broad set of parameters that may influence the service life of wooden components such as exposure to moisture, climatic variations and design. In order to reach these objectives, most CEN/TC 38 standards are currently being revised based on the recent scientific, technological and legal developments in the field of wood protection. There is an increasing need for performance classification of wood products in construction and to radically consider how wood durability test methods and standards can inform on service life and how they might be translated into a performance classification system. This paper describes the changes during the past 5–10 years in Europe and how the trajectory of standards development is now on a different pathway. Classification and service life demands are described as well as current approaches to consider key issues such as material resistance, moisture risk and adaptation of existing standards.     

Cloning of a flower-specific expression promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana and its plant expression vector construction

Given the sequence of Chs gene promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana reported in GenBank (AF248988), a pair of specific     

Fertilization in northern forests – biological,economic and environmental constraints and possibilities

Forests of northern ecosystems respond slowly to management activities and the possibilities to increase the growth in a short-term perspective and meet swift increases in society's demand for biomass are small. An exception among the silvicultural measures is fertilization which can be applied in combination with present management systems and, almost instantly, enhances forest productivity. There may, however, be both economic and environmental constraints to large-scale applications of fertilizers in forest. Here we review the literature concerning biomass production of forests under different fertilization regimens, environmental constraints and possibilities in northern forests on mineral soils. Further on we discuss the implications of both extensive and more intensive fertilization in relation to the developing bioeconomy, which encompasses the production and conversion of renewable biological resources into food, health and industrial products and energy. Fertilization in Sweden and Finland is currently practiced by extensive fertilization regimens where nitrogen fertilizers are applied once, or up to three times, during a rotation period, mainly in mature forest. This type of fertilization gives, in most cases, a small and transient effect on the environment as well as a high rate of return to the forest owner with low-economic risk. The increase in biomass production, however, is relatively small and consequently the impact on the processing industry and the bioeconomy is limited. More intensive fertilization regimens implying intensive fertilization starting in young forests may, on the other hand, considerably increase the biomass supply and value for the industry. The economic and environmental risks of this type of fertilization may, however, be larger and more research is needed on the effects on the stand level, and especially on the landscape level, including late rotation management of the forest.     

Democratising timber: An assessment of Myanmar's emerging ‘Forest Law Enforcement,Governance and Trade’ (FLEGT) process

Amidst Myanmar (Burma)'s political reform process the forest sector remains an important area awaiting democratisation. Forests historically covered over 50% of the countries' land area, and have been of major importance for both local livelihoods, the national economy and ‘ecosystem services’ such as biodiversity and catchment hydrology. The export timber trade has however played a decisive role in determining forest sector policy and indeed has exerted a significant influence on overall national politics since the colonial era began and continuing to the present day. Under the post-independence military dictatorship the timber trade involved ever more unsustainable plunder, particularly from the 1970s, rapidly degrading forests. But now reform of Myanmar's timber trade is on the national political agenda, reform which will be crucial for the Nation's transition towards an equitable and sustainable development trajectory.New legislative measures within consuming countries, including the EU, to challenge illegally sourced timber and wood product supplies have begun to exert a catalytic influence on Myanmar's forest policies, and converging with domestic civil society pressures have led in 2013 to the initiation of a formal ‘Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade’ (or FLEGT) bilateral process between the European Union and the Government of Myanmar.This paper presents an analysis of the nature of Myanmar's current timber trade and of the challenges and opportunities for reform, particularly in relation to the emerging FLEGT process. We argue that there are eight key aspects of Myanmar's timber trade overdue for democratic reform, which the FLEGT process puts into sharp relief: 1) resolution of ethnic conflicts primarily in upland forested areas, 2) reform of forest tenures; 3) a review of overall forest sector policies and the appropriate place of timber production; 4) reform of military era state timber institutions, 5) a return to silviculturally based sustainable forest management; 6) restructuring of the timber industry away from ‘crony’ domination; 7) measures to combat illegal logging and assure the rule of law; and 8) citizen participation in policy development and implementation.This ‘shopping list’ of democratic reforms implies a major and undoubtedly difficult process ahead, and success is far from certain. From 2013 promising initial progress has already begun on several of these areas. However, although the Government of Myanmar may give the international audience the impression that it is rapidly democratising, on the ground only limited substantive changes are yet experienced in rural areas, and resistance to reform persists amongst the military and their commercial partners. A spectrum of possible outcomes for forest sector reform may be foreseen, from mere token improvements on the dictatorship-era ‘business as usual’ to a thorough realisation of democratic aspirations. The outcome will be determined by the balance of power between civil society, public representatives, timber merchants particularly the powerful so-called ‘crony’ and proxy military business interests, and the intermediating powers of Government (including a significant rent-seeking ‘shadow state’), the EU, and the international markets that drive the demand for Burmese timber. The extent to which the FLEGT process can reinforce the wider democratisation process may be a decisive factor.     

Understanding forest transition in the Philippines: main farm-level factors influencing smallholder’s capacity and intention to plant native timber trees

The ‘when, where and how’ of decisions by smallholder upland farmers to plant trees as part of their use of natural, human and capital resources needs to be understood if policy support is to result in actual recovery of tree cover as part of a ‘forest transition’ trajectory. In large parts of the Philippines the turning point may be close. Data on resource access and tree planting decisions were gathered from a household survey, with a total of 148 respondents in four rural communities in Leyte Province in Central Philippines. Data were analysed using logistic regression analysis. Household-level results reveal that the outcomes of the decision-making processes primarily depend on the availability of land and access to remaining forest resources rather than socio-cultural or economic factors. The total area of land and number of parcels managed by the household plus security of land tenure through ownership was found to have a statistically significant effect on farmers’ decision to plant native timber trees. Access to surrounding natural forest is negatively associated with farmer tree planting.     

Analysis of moisture diffusivity of larch timber during convective drying condition by using Crank＇s method and Dincer＇s method

Two analytical procedures （Crank＇s method and Dincer＇s method） for porous solid materials were reevaluated and used to determine moisture diffusion coefficients and moisture transfer coefficients for larch lumber subjected to drying. A diffusion-like equation was used to describe drying process data. The lumber was idealized in the modeling as infinite plates. The moisture transport process inside the board was assumed to be one-dimensional. The macroscopic drying kinetics curves of larch timber at particular conditions were determined experimentally. Based on these data, calculation for both the moisture diffusion coefficients and moisture transfer coefficients by the Dincer＇s analytical procedure were made. The dynamic moisture diffusion coefficients by the traditional Crank＇s method were calculated. In general, diffusion coefficients calculated by the Dincer＇s method were all higher than those by Crank＇s method. These results could be due to the differences between two analytical methods and also different characteristics between solid moisture diffusion process and heat transfer process. Therefore the analysis and solution procedures of moisture diffusion differential equations need to be adapted in the future. With drying temperature＇s increasing moisture diffusion coefficient （D） and moisture transfer coefficient （k） increases accordingly. Also the relationships between diffusion coefficients and temperature as well as material moisture contents were analyzed by using Arrhenius equation and bound water transport theory.     

Distribution of the timber quality attribute ‘knot surface’ in logs of Fagus sylvatica L. from pure and mixed forest stands

European Journal of Forest Research - Research on mixed forests has mostly focused on tree growth and productivity, or resistance and resilience in changing climate conditions, but only rarely on...     

A novel NIRS modelling method with OPLS-SPA and MIX-PLS for timber evaluationOA

The identification of timber properties is important for safe application. Near Infrared Spectroscopy(NIRS)technology is widely-used because of its simplicity, efficiency, and positive environmental attributes. However, in its application, weak signals are extracted from complex,overlapping and changing information. This study focused on the stability of NIR modeling. The Orthogonal Partial Least Squares(OPLS) and Successive Projections Algorithm(SPA) eliminates noise and extracts effective spec...     

Tannery row – The story of some natural and synthetic wood adhesives

Tannin adhesives are a relatively old but limited speciality which has become again topical with the very marked environment-friendly outlook of wood science at the beginning of the new century. Although the lecture will start by intermingling the technical experience of the author in this field mainly with some humorous stories on the early and not so early beginnings of this speciality, this will only be a brief introduction to more recent scientific/technical developments on mainly synthetic thermosetting adhesives, although natural adhesives will not be forgotten. The lecture will also relate in a very brief form, and without being limiting, some of the author's developments in synthetic (and some natural) resins wood adhesives, and in other fields of wood science and wood technology which might have or have had an impact on the advancement of this field. Received 20 June 2000     

Non‐industrial private forest owners' decision process: A qualitative study about goals,time perspective,opportunities and alternatives

In the Nordic countries, the non‐industrial private forest (NIPF) owners play an important role in the roundwood market, and are essential to the successful implementation of environmental policies. We know little about the owners as managers, however; about their goals, procedures for identifying cutting opportunities, or the selection of buyers and price options. To study these issues, I have used a qualitative method, based on personal interviews with 35 owners. The results show that an overriding objective, influencing the cutting patterns of the owners, is to preserve and develop the property. A variety of formal and informal economic, production and environmental, and intangible goals are influenced by this overriding objective. In addition to relying on their own observations of price changes and the recommendations of the forest management plan, owners identify cutting opportunities through neighbours, friends, timber buyers, or extension rangers. Usually the owner uses the same selling form from one time to the next. Dissatisfaction with the result of the last cutting, however, may trigger a search for new options.