Wood Products

 Forestry Blog: Unit 3

Most people admire the beauty developed by structures created using timber and other wood products. However, people rarely think of the wood source or the wood by-products that were used to make the appealing structure or products. Based on this deficit, I would like to develop insight on how wood by-products are generated and how they are selected for various uses. Wood products are generated from trees that are grown in plantations or forests. Thus, one has to harvest the trees upon which they can be converted to useful products. The harvesting process can be developed in three ways; section harvesting, shelterwood harvest, and clear-cut harvest (Cook, 2014). Under selection harvesting, people harvest small portions of forests over a long period while clear-cutting oversee the harvest of the entire forest. Sheltered harvest entails the removal of mature trees while retaining the immature trees. After harvesting, the acquired logs are transported to a sawmill where the by-product processing exercise takes place. A computer is used in the sawmill to create cutting patterns on the logs based on their diameter, defects, and lengths. The cuttings facilitate the attainment of different sizes of lumber. The cutting process generates several by-products that include 52% lumber, 36% of the materials are subjected to further refinement to generate pulp, while the rest consists of the barks, wood scraps, and sawdust. All the products are utilized to produce useful products. Lumber is often used to build structures such as houses, furniture, and offices; pulp is used to create paper, barks, and wood scraps are converted to usable energy, while farmers use sawdust as animal bedding. 

Timber prices are based on measurements where the cost of any given timber is determined by its size. Similarly, timber prices may vary depending on whether they were acquired from hardwood or softwood. Typically, timbers obtained from hardwoods are assumed to be stronger and thus attract higher prices than lumber acquired from the softwood trees. Timbers are also subjected to pressure treatments that make them resistant to rot, fungi, and bacteria, which further increase the lumber's durability. In the drying process, timber may assume the color of the chemical being used, which in most cases, spread a bluish-green tint on the timber. 

Did you know that the use of particular timbers is determined by their nature? In most cases, we assume that all timbers are the same and can be used for any building purpose. However, the use of timber is determined by the properties of their species. For example, red cedar is mostly used for decking due to its appealing color and its ability to resist weather effects (L13: Forest to Lumber). However, builders have adopted the use of pressure treated timber due to the scarcity of cedarwood. Similarly, hardwoods are mostly to make furniture due to their durability and their attractive colors. Lumber acquired from aspen can be used for sauna benches and playground structures since it does not splinter. 

Apart from generating lumber and other useful wood products, trees also play a crucial role in ensuring a carbon-neutral atmosphere. Trees acquire from the air for use in photosynthesis, which helps reduce the amount of carbon in the air (L17: Is wood good?). Also, trees improve the quality of soil whenever they incur natural death. Dead trees offer food to soil microbes whose activities improve air circulation within the soil and facilitate proper water retainment. 

                                                       References

Cook, B. (2014). Timber harvest methods. Retrieved from             https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/timber_harvest_methods

L13: Forest and Lumber.

L17: Is wood good?