Stuff has to come from somewhere, even if it's biorenewable

 Wood You Consider? 

When considering what wood is used for, many people often think of the obvious: lumber, paper, and furniture. While those things are very important and have a large impact on wood use there are countless other ways in which wood is used in our everyday lives. The issue lies in the fact that wood takes a long time to grow, and at the rate we consume it by various means. But just how are we using wood, and what portions of wood are used for different aspects? Furthermore, just how sustainable are our current wood production practices?

Woodn’t You Like to Know

Products made from wood are all around us all the time: The frame for your house, your notebook, mulch or wood chips, fuel for a late night bonfire, etc. but where is it all coming from and how are we able to continually get more when considering the length of time it takes for a tree to grow? Well currently around 33% of US land is covered by forests which equates to around 751 million acres (lesson 9). However, not all of this land can be used in the production of wood as it may be protected land for various different reasons. This protected land cuts usable timberland (land that can be used to make industrial wood) down to about 541 million acres (lesson 9). So from these acres we are able to use wood in two main ways: Wood for products and wood for energy. When considering wood for products that wood comes from trees you would more commonly think of such as an oak or pine tree. These trees are grown in natural forests (which make up the majority), semi natural forests, and plantation forests. Although plantation forests make up only about 5% of our forested land they actually produce roughly 35% of the world's wood products (J.R. Boyle). This is due to their high efficiency level and much quicker turn over of trees vs a natural forest. The trees of all of these 3 types of forests are then sent to a sawmill to be turned into lumber, mulch, or paper. The less well known type of forestry which is known as short rotation coppicing (SRC). This type of forestry is used in the production of fuels or as a form of energy. The reason these forests are not suitable for conventional lumber uses is because they are much smaller weaker trees that are grown at very high rates, according to forest research only around 2-5 years between harvests.

Sustainability

When considering whether or not our current forest practices are sustainable there really is not a clear yes or no answer. However, according to the national report on sustainable forests the US forests land is remaining stable at the 751 million acre mark. But stability and sustainability are not one in the same. Natural forests have the perk of avoiding monocultures and creating ecosystems for other plants and animals to thrive in, but they are not all that efficient though. Plantation forests are very efficient, but run many risks and are much harder on the environment they are grown in. If we didn’t have plantation forests we would have to remove more natural forests to keep up with wood demand which would diminish sustainability. Forests can also be certified which promotes sustainability by meeting certain set standards, but this is not a requirement and is a very lengthy and difficult process. As you can see it is a very tricky subject with no black and white answers. 

Works cited

Sustainable Forestry: Ecology and Silviculture for Resilient Forests

Sustainable Forestry: Ecology and Silviculture for Resilient Forests (oregonstate.edu)

Executive summary 

2010-executive-summary.pdf (fs.fed.us)

Short Rotation Coppice

Short rotation coppice - Forest Research