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Forests
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Managing for Wood Quality: Analytics, Operational Tools and Applied Solutions
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Managing for Wood Quality: Analytics, Operational Tools and Applied Solutions

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Wood Science and Forest Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 10888

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Peter F. Newton

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada
Interests: density management decision-support systems; non-destructive evaluation of end-product potential; wood quality and fibre attribute modelling; stem analysis analytics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global competition and societal change are eliciting incremental changes in forest management practices throughout temperate and boreal forest regions. Forest management objectives and associated silvicultural inputs are increasingly focused on enhancing end-product quality while providing a wider array of ecosystem services and maintaining or increasing volumetric fibre yields. Realizing this aspirational trivariate goal is partially dependent of the provision of enhanced in-forest operational intelligence and associated decision-making capacities in relation to the production and management of wood quality outcomes. Innovative research efforts continue to make consequential gains in addressing these issues via the development of wood quality and fibre attribute prediction models, in-forest non-destructive methods for estimating end-product potential, and crop planning decision-support systems and associated software analogues for use in operational forest management.

This Special Issue will attempt to benchmark the state-of-knowledge and highlight research efforts in these areas. For example, contributions that aim to (1) quantify or model conceptual or empirical linkages between external tree morphology (e.g., crown structure) or internal fibre attributes (e.g., wood density, microfibial angle or modulus of elasticity) and end-product potential, (2) advance in-forest non-destructive methodologies for use in estimating internal wood quality attributes (e.g., acoustics), or (3) develop and (or) demonstrate crop planning decision-support analogues for use in managing wood quality outcomes (e.g., density management models), would all be within the scope of this Special Issue. Furthermore, contributions that attempt to incorporate the consequences of climate change on wood quality determinates or management decision-making are also strongly encouraged.

Dr. Peter F. Newton
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wood quality modeling
  • fibre attributes
  • acoustic-based forecasting
  • product value
  • density management decision-support systems
  • regulating and predicting rotational wood quality outcomes
  • end-product potential

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2917 KiB  
Article
Using X-ray CT Scanned Reconstructed Logs to Predict Knot Characteristics and Tree Value
by Airu Ji, Julie Cool and Isabelle Duchesne
Forests 2021, 12(6), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060720 - 1 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3151
Abstract
Research Highlights: Stand density was connected with wood quality and lumber production to develop a predictive model to better estimate tree value. Background and Objectives: The available standing wood volume in British Columbia (BC), Canada has consistently decreased since 1990. Better understanding the [...] Read more.
Research Highlights: Stand density was connected with wood quality and lumber production to develop a predictive model to better estimate tree value. Background and Objectives: The available standing wood volume in British Columbia (BC), Canada has consistently decreased since 1990. Better understanding the link between stand growth conditions, knot characteristics, the sawmilling process and product quality is essential in making informed forest management decisions and efficiently utilizing wood. The overall objective was to investigate and predict the impact of tree growth as affected by stand density on knot characteristics, lumber volume and value recoveries for two conifer species, two types of sawmills and three economic scenarios. Materials and Methods: Seventy-two amabilis fir and western hemlock trees were harvested from three stands located on Vancouver Island, BC. Sawlogs were scanned using an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner and images were processed to extract knot characteristics and reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) log models. The effects of three diameter at breast height (DBH) classes (30, 40 and 50 cm) and three stand densities on knot characteristics, including knot volume, number of knots, average knot area and knot/tree volume ratio, as well as the simulated lumber volume and value recoveries from two types of sawmills (i.e., Coastal and Interior) under three economic scenarios (i.e., baseline, optimistic, and pessimistic) were investigated. Results: As expected, the knot characteristics of both species increased with the DBH. The difference of knot distribution between amabilis fir and western hemlock suggests that the latter is more sensitive to growth site conditions. The sawmilling simulations revealed that the Coastal mill produced a lower lumber volume due to the type of products manufactured and the primary breakdown patterns being used. Conclusions: The developed linear mixed effects models based on the knot characteristics and tree features could predict the value of a standing tree and can be used for estimating preharvest stand value of similar Coastal Hem-Fir forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing for Wood Quality: Analytics, Operational Tools and Applied Solutions)
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42 pages, 5465 KiB  
Article
Croplanner: A Stand Density Management Decision-Support Software Suite for Addressing Volumetric Yield, End-Product and Ecosystem Service Objectives When Managing Boreal Conifers
by Peter F. Newton
Forests 2021, 12(4), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12040448 - 7 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2761
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to develop a stand density management decision-support software suite for boreal conifers and demonstrate its potential utility in crop planning using practical deployment exemplifications. Denoted CPDSS (CroPlanner Decision-support Software Suite), the program was developed by transcribing [...] Read more.
The objectives of this study were to develop a stand density management decision-support software suite for boreal conifers and demonstrate its potential utility in crop planning using practical deployment exemplifications. Denoted CPDSS (CroPlanner Decision-support Software Suite), the program was developed by transcribing algorithmic analogues of structural stand density management diagrams previously developed for even-aged black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) BSP.) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) stand-types into an integrated software platform with shared commonalities with respect to computational structure, input requirements and generated numerical and graphical outputs. The suite included 6 stand-type-specific model variants (natural-origin monospecific upland black spruce and jack pine stands, mixed upland black spruce and jack pine stands, and monospecific lowland black spruce stands, and plantation-origin monospecific upland black spruce and jack pine stands), and 4 climate-sensitive stand-type-specific model variants (monospecific upland black spruce and jack pine natural-origin and planted stands). The underlying models which were equivalent in terms of their modular structure, parameterization analytics and geographic applicability, were enabled to address a diversity of crop planning scenarios when integrated within the software suite (e.g., basic, extensive, intensive and elite silvicultural regimes). Algorithmically, the Windows® (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) based suite was developed by recoding the Fortran-based algorithmic model variants into a collection of VisualBasic.Net® (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) equivalents and augmenting them with intuitive graphical user interfaces (GUIs), optional computer-intensive optimization applications for automated crop plan selection, and interactive tabular and charting reporting tools inclusive of static and dynamic stand visualization capabilities. In order to address a wide range of requirements from the end-user community and facilitate potential deployment within provincially regulated forest management planning systems, a participatory approach was used to guide software design. As exemplified, the resultant CPDSS can be used as an (1) automated crop planning searching tool in which computer-intensive methods are used to find the most appropriate precommercial thinning, commercial thinning and (or) initial espacement (spacing) regime, according to a weighted multivariate scoring metric reflective of attained mean tree size, operability status, volumetric productivity, and economic viability, and a set of treatment-related constraints (e.g., thresholds regarding intensity and timing of thinning events, and residual stocking levels), as specified by the end-user, or (2) iterative gaming-like crop planning tool where end-users simultaneously contrast density management regimes using detailed annual and rotational volumetric yield, end-product and ecological output measures, and (or) an abbreviated set of rotational-based performance metrics, from which they determine the most applicable crop plan required for attaining their specified stand-level objective(s). The participatory approach, modular computational structure and software platform used in the formulation of the CPDSS along with its exemplified utility, collectively provides the prerequisite foundation for its potential deployment in boreal crop planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing for Wood Quality: Analytics, Operational Tools and Applied Solutions)
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13 pages, 1811 KiB  
Article
Development of Non-Destructive-Testing Based Selection and Grading Strategies for Plantation Eucalyptus nitens Sawn Boards
by Michelle Balasso, Mark Hunt, Andrew Jacobs and Julianne O’Reilly-Wapstra
Forests 2021, 12(3), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030343 - 15 Mar 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
Stiffness is considered one of the most important structural properties for sawn timber used in buildings and laminated structures including mass timber elements. There is great potential to use plantation Eucalyptus timber for structural applications, and the successful development of a plantation timber [...] Read more.
Stiffness is considered one of the most important structural properties for sawn timber used in buildings and laminated structures including mass timber elements. There is great potential to use plantation Eucalyptus timber for structural applications, and the successful development of a plantation timber supply chain for structural products will depend on the accurate selection and grading of the resource. In this study we aimed to investigate the suitability of non-destructive testing (NDT) to improve selection and grading of sawn boards sourced from a young E. nitens plantation. We studied 268 sawn boards traced from the tree through to final processing stages. We found high and positive correlations between stiffness (measured as dynamic modulus of elasticity) tested at each board processing stage through acoustic wave velocity (AWV) and the static board modulus of elasticity measured through mechanical testing on dressed boards. Position of the board in the stem and sawn board processing treatment significantly impacted board modulus of elasticity, indicating that early selection of logs would allow larger yield of stiffer boards. We investigated the grading of boards through the traditional Australian Standards using a visual-grading system and through AWV, finding a classification error of 82.5% and 45.2%, respectively. We developed a linear model which was used to re-classify the boards, obtaining a smaller classification error, including fewer boards being over-graded. Our results demonstrate that AWV can be used as an early selection method for structural boards and can also be employed to satisfactorily grade E. nitens plantation boards to be used in building structures and as elements of mass timber. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing for Wood Quality: Analytics, Operational Tools and Applied Solutions)
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11 pages, 1942 KiB  
Article
Increasing Volumetric Prediction Accuracy—An Essential Prerequisite for End-Product Forecasting in Red Pine
by Mahadev Sharma
Forests 2020, 11(10), 1050; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11101050 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1955
Abstract
Sustainable forest management requires accurate estimates of wood volume. At present, red pine (Pinus resinosa Sol. ex Aiton) is the most widely planted conifer tree species in southern Ontario, Canada. Therefore, inside and outside bark volume equations were developed for red pine [...] Read more.
Sustainable forest management requires accurate estimates of wood volume. At present, red pine (Pinus resinosa Sol. ex Aiton) is the most widely planted conifer tree species in southern Ontario, Canada. Therefore, inside and outside bark volume equations were developed for red pine trees grown in plantations. One hundred and fifty red pine trees were sampled from 30 even-aged plantations from across Ontario, Canada. Height-diameter pairs along the boles of sampled trees used to calculate stem volumes were obtained from stem analysis. Equations fitted to the data were a combined variable, modified combined variable, and modified form of dimensionally compatible volume equations. These equations were compared for their goodness-of-fit statistics, logical consistency, and predictive accuracy. The goodness-of-fit characteristics for all three equations were comparable for both inside and outside bark volumes. However, the estimated values for the intercept for the modified form of the dimensionally compatible and modified combined variable volume equations were negative and nonsignificant. The combined variable volume equation resulted in logically consistent parameter estimates in the presence of random effects parameters. Therefore, this equation was selected as the inside and outside bark volume equation for red pine trees grown in plantations. A nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach was applied in fitting the final volume equation that included a weight (power function) to address heteroscedasticity. The equations developed here can be used to calculate inside and outside bark volumes of red pine plantations in boreal forests in Eastern Canada. These equations would require both diameter at breast height (DBH) and total height values in meters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing for Wood Quality: Analytics, Operational Tools and Applied Solutions)
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