USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
Evaluating Precommercial Thinning Effects
on Wood Quality in Southeast Alaska
Issue
Since the 1900s, about 400,000 acres of timber on Forest Service land
and an equal amount on other ownerships has been harvested and
naturally regenerated in southeast Alaska. Several management themes
have been developed for young-growth stands to create stand structures
beneficial to wildlife and the production of sustainable timber resources.
Each theme has a goal that ranges from maintaining wildlife habitat to
producing high-value timber, but they all include the need for a
precommercial thinning (PCT) to accomplish the desired stand features.
Understanding the product and economic potential of the wood fiber that is
removed from
these stands and of the trees that are left behind is important. The
Tongass land management plan recognizes the need for an integrated
timber industry that is capable of utilizing timber from managed stands of
second growth.
Objectives
• Establish baseline product recovery information about the volume and
quality of lumber products manufactured from young-growth western
hemlock and Sitka spruce from even-aged stands in southeast Alaska.
• Compare the quality differences between stands that have been
precommercially thinned and those not thinned.
• Determine if spacing at time of PCT influences product volume, quality,
and value.
• Test the effectiveness of using nondestructive techniques to predict
product quality in standing trees and logs.
Outcomes
• Preliminary analyses indicate that PCT did not significantly affect the
volume, value, or mechanical properties of lumber produced from trees
harvested from thinned stands.
• Little defect was noted in both the spruce and hemlock.
• Lumber grade was primarily limited by knot size in both species.
Study Cooperators
Alaska Region and Tongass National Forest
Alaska State Department of Natural Resources
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources team, Portland, OR
Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, Madison, WI
Ketchikan Wood Technology Center, Ketchikan, AK
Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service
Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Athens, GA
Contacts
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
Robert A. Monserud, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2059. E-mail: rmonserud@fs.fed.us
Visit the PNW Station Web site at www.fs.fed.us/pnw.
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
An Integrated Approach to Fuels Treatment in the
Southwestern United States
Issue
There are thousands of acres of densely stocked ponderosa pine in
the urban-wildland interface surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona.
Thinning these stands will reduce fire risk and improve forest
health, but the cost of these treatments is high. Sale of timber
removed during management activities can help defray costs, but
little information is available on the value or properties of this
resource and associated costs of removal.
Objectives
• Examine ways to lower harvesting and transport
costs through various levels of in-woods processing.
• Provide a decision-support tool to help evaluate
economic thresholds of different fuels reduction
treatments given current product markets for smalldiameter material removed.
• Identify potential value-added products that can be
made from this resource that may present new
opportunities to support community industries that
require low capital investment while providing
employment for the residents of northern Arizona.
Outcomes
• Assesment of portable sawmill technology.
• Small-diameter ponderosa pine volume/value recovery.
• Harvest Cost-Revenue (HCR) Estimator model development
being used in US Forest Service, Southwestern Region.
Study Cooperators
Coconino National Forest
Greater Flagstaff Forest Partnership, Inc.
High Desert Investment, Inc.
Northern Arizona University
Perkins Timber Harvesting
Skyline Resources, Escalante, UT
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station
Citations
Becker, Hjerpe, Lowell. 2004. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-623.
Lowell, Becker, Rummer, Larson, Wadleigh. 2008. Forest Science. 54(3): 273-283.
Becker, Larson, Lowell, Rummer. 2008. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-748.
Contacts
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
Dennis Becker, University of Minnesota. Phone: (612) 624-7286. E-mail: drbecker@umn.edu
Funding obtained from a competitive grant submitted to Joint Fire Sciences Program
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
Deterioration of Dead and Dying Timber
Issue
Fire, insect, and other forest disturbances create an
abundance of material that will deteriorate resulting in
increased fuel loads and lost opportunities for
businesses and communities.
Objectives
• Determine the rate of deterioration of fire- and beetle-killed trees.
• Assess volume and value losses over time associated with fire
and insect damage.
• Identify product opportunities for material from fire- and beetlekilled trees.
Outcomes
1200
1000
dollars/MBF
• Deterioration data are being used in preparation of environmental impact
statements and emergency situation determinations for salvage logging plans.
• Significant value loss is experienced the first year in blue stained pine lumber
sawn for appearance grade lumber.
• Volume loss becomes more important 2 years following disturbance
regardless of species.
• The Pacific Northwest Region adopted recommendation to address blue stain
losses in appraisal system rather than measurement system.
• Decreased moisture content of logs from dead trees increases breakdown
time and affects volume recovery for some composite products.
• Older, beetle-killed spruce can be used in the manufacture of wood plastic
composites.
800
600
400
200
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
32
Log small end diameter (inch)
Control
Beetle Damage
Study Cooperators
Alaska Division of Forestry
Bureau of Land Management
Chugach National Forest
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Deschutes National Forest
Klamath National Forest
Mississippi State University
Siskiyou National Forest
Six Rivers National Forest
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Citations
Lowell and Cahill. 1996. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 11(4): 125-131.
Lowell and Willits. 1998. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 13(2): 54-59.
Lowell and Parry. 2007. Forest Products Journal. 57(7/8): 68-72.
Lowell, Haynes, Rapp, and Cray. 2010. PNW-GTR-816.
Contact
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
36
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
Engineered Wood Products
(Wood Plastic Composites and TimTek®)
Issue
Fire and insect infestations are creating large areas of
standing dead and dying timber. These conditions can
increase the risk for uncharacteristically severe fires, pose
a safety issue in the wildland-urban interface, and limit
utilization opportunities for wood products.
Objectives
• Identify engineered wood products that could be
manufactured from fire- and insect-killed trees.
• Prepare samples from deteriorated and green material.
• Test the performance of these samples and compare them
with green or other control material.
Outcomes
• Wood plastic composites were identified as a potential
product to be manufactured from beetle-killed spruce from the
Kenai peninsula in Alaska.
• Mechanical properties of wood plastic composites from highly
deteriorated spruce compared favorably with those of pine, the
control species.
• TimTek® , a strand composite, was manufactured from firekilled ponderosa and lodgepole pine from central Oregon.
• Fire-killed material did not break down (scrim) as well as
green material affecting the processing and quality of the
TimTek beam.
Study Cooperators
Alaska State Division of Forestry
Chugach National Forest
Deschutes National Forest
Mississippi State University
Stand Management Cooperative
Warm Springs Confederated Tribes
Washington State University
USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station
Citation
Yadama, Lowell, Peterson, Nicholls. (submitted). Polymer Engineering and Science.
Contacts
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
Vik Yadama, Washington State University. Phone: (509) 335-6261. E-mail: vyadama@wsu.edu
Dan Seale, Mississippi State University. Phone: (662) 325-3072. E-mail: dseale@CFR.MsState.Edu
Dave Nicholls, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (907) 747-4312. E-mail: dlnichollsl@fs.fed.us
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
Nondestructive Evaluation of
Wood Quality Along the Tree-to-Product Chain
Issue
Lack of information may lead to use of cultural treatments with
detrimental effects on future wood quality and product value.
New field tools are now available that allow rapid nondestructive
assessment of one measure of wood quality (stiffness) in
standing trees and logs.
Objectives
• Define relationships between stiffness of lumber or
veneer within a log, the stiffness of the log, and the
stiffness of the parent tree.
• Assess the effect of treatment and stand variables on
these relationships.
• Develop process capability analysis tools to assist
managers in determining the effects of treatments on wood
quality and enabling improved marketing decisions.
Outcome
Procedures for using the nondestructive evaluation
equipment, baseline relationships, and associated
analytical software will provide managers of forest
lands with a basis for incorporating wood quality into
cultural and marketing decisions.
Cooperators
CHH Fibre-Gen, New Zealand
Green Diamond Resource Company
Port Blakely Tree Farms
University of Washington
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station
Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Weyerhaeuser Company
Citations
Briggs, Thienel, Turnblom, Lowell, Dykstra, Ross, Wang, Carter. (In press) Proceedings of 15th international
symposium on nondestructive testing of wood.
Contacts
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
David Briggs, University of Washington. Phone: (206) 543-1581. E-mail: dbriggs@u.washington.edu
Funding obtained from a competitive grant submitted to Agenda 2020 (AF&PA-USFS collaboration)
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
Koa Defect Guide and Product Quality
Issue
Koa wood (Acacia koa) is a culturally important and
economically valuable species on the Hawaiian Islands. It is
used for a range of products from flooring to fine musical
instruments. Because of the value of Koa wood, accounting for
defects in logs is critical. There is a general consensus that the
existing guide for determining Koa log defects is valuable but in
need of updating and expansion. Little data is available for
second-growth stands. It is anticipated that some of these
second-growth stands will begin to be harvested during the next
decade, so there is a need for defect guidelines for logs from
younger trees. Knowledge regarding the impact of different
defects on wood volume and value recovery is essential to the
utilization of Koa wood.
Objectives
• Collect log recovery variability data that will be used to determine
priorities for additional research.
• Evaluate defects and associated product degrade to determine
which defects have the greatest impact on wood utilization.
• Conduct preliminary nondestructive stress-wave testing and
relate it to corresponding decay observations for assessing the
feasibility of predicting decay extent.
Outcome
• A Koa wood defect photo guide will be produced both in print form
and as a searchable database on CD.
• A report/publication will be produced that documents the results
obtained in two sawmill case studies. This will include recovery
results for sawing 20 logs, detailed defect information, and log decay
observations.
Cooperators
Pacific Southwest Research Station, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry
Hawaii Forest Industries Association
Pacific Northwest Research Station, ESP Team
Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife
Private industrial partners
Hawaii Homelands
The Nature Conservancy (potential)
Northern Research Station
University of Hawaii
Contacts
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
Jan Wiedenbeck, Northern Research Station. Phone: (304) 431-2708. E-mail: jwiedenbeck@fs.fed.us
Funding provided in part by Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Ecologically Sustainable Production of Forest Resources
Effects of Integrated Wood Merchandising Network on
Viability of Markets to Support Sustainable Forest Management
Issue
The feasibility, and therefore broad-based application, of
biomass utilization is largely constrained by the high cost of
removing and transporting small-diameter trees and the
relatively low market value of their wood, both as a log and end
product. An important need is to identify an array of smalldiameter timber products and create new market connections.
Although only a small portion of logs may be appropriate for
higher value uses, the value of these logs theoretically reduces
the cost of the remaining logs. This reduced cost is critical if low
margin ventures are to be economically viable for the larger
volume of lesser value material.
Objectives
• Document the extent to which an array of small-diameter
timber product lines can improve recovery and the overall
bottom lines of a wood products company or group of
companies.
• Investigate new market connections that provide
predictable and profitable returns for efficiently produced
and delivered value-added products.
• Improve the efficiency of ongoing biomass utilization
efforts by helping practitioners access information and
resources.
Expected Outcome
• Emerging/existing biomass utilization efforts may
operate more efficiently and expand their operations
thus improving the overall vitality and resilience of rural
communities by addressing both their ecological and
economical needs.
Cooperators
Community Smallwood Solutions
National Forest System
PNW Research Station, ESP Team
Upstream 21, Portland, OR
Sustainable Northwest, Portland, OR
Wallowa Resources
Contacts
Eini Lowell, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Phone: (503) 808-2072. E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
Converting low value forest biomass to higher value by-products
including biofuels, biopolymers, and specialty composites
using hot water based biorefinery
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Washington State University
State University of New York, ESF
Issue
An abundance of forest-based woody biomass that
is at risk from fire, insects, and disease exists on
both public and private lands. This material is costly
to remove and currently has little or no commercial
value. Conversion of woody biomass to chemicals,
energy, and higher value composites (biorefinery
concept) will minimize waste and reduce
dependency on fossil fuels.
Objectives
• Fractionate woody biomass into main components by sequential treatments to give
separate streams that may be used for different product applications.
• West fuel reduction treatment underwent hot water extraction.
• Analyze the sugars extracted
• To demonstrate that the extracted components can be separated for further
processing to biofuels and bioplastics.
• Characterize thermal properties of extracted material.
• Evaluate properties of composites manufactured using extracted woody biomass.
Results of Hot Water Fractionation of Ponderosa Pine
Unidentified
1.4%
Unextractables
(Cellulose & Extractables
Lignin)
20%
80%
Sugars
15.6%
Others
1.4%
Acetic Acid
1.2%
Ash Reduction
0.4%
Unextractables → enhanced wood products
Sugars → biofuels & bioplastics
Acetic Acid → $ chemical market
Outcomes
• Develop effective chemical conversion of low
-value forest-based woody biomass for
production of heteropolymers that can be
processed into biofuels and bioplastics.
• Establish procedures to process the woody
biomass for hot water extraction.
• Develop a method to improve hydrophobicity
of wood composites allowing a maximization of
the benefits of a renewable and complex
resource. The results will contribute to a
successful conversion of wood composites
facilities to biorefinery plants and lead to less
dependency on petroleum products.
Cooperators
● Deschutes National Forest, Sisters Ranger District
● Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service
● State University of New York, ESF
● Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Contacts
Eini Lowell
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Vikram Yadama Washington State University
Tom Amidon
State University of New York, ESF
Phone: (503) 808-2072
Phone: (509) 335-6261
Phone: (315) 470-6501
E-mail: elowell@fs.fed.us
E-mail: vyadama@wsu.edu
E-mail: teamidon@esf.edu