Modelling wood quality and its implications for lumber recovery in variable retention stands

For many reasons, forest management in Canada will be constrained by ecological and social forest management objectives. Along with meeting the diverse needs of society, forest managers will need to consider increased demands for renewable resources, such as wood. Wood, as opposed to concrete and steel, has a positive impact on the global carbon cycle but is also strong enough to build large buildings. Therefore, there will be an increased demand for stronger wood in the future. Many factors influence the strength of wood, such as the species, the speed at which the tree grows and the environment where the tree is growing. We are attempting to understand how the properties that affect the strength of wood change when forest managers must also meet social and ecological goals. We propose to develop computer models that simulate wood strength properties in response to forest management. We will also work to incorporate a virtual sawmill into these computer models. This will allow us to virtually understand the implications of sustainable forest management on the end-use products that are made from trees.

Faculty Supervisor:

Bruce Larson

Student:

Adam Polinko

Partner:

Azura Formetrics Ltd

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Forestry

University:

University of British Columbia