Search

Since trees record all the environmental factors in the wood, many wood properties are related to the site characteristics. Despite of this fact, identifying the origin of a timber has always been considered a difficult task, and no effective tools are presently available for this purpose. The goal of this study was to verify whether significant differences among groups of the same wood species due to the provenance can be detected with Fourier transform near-infra-red spectroscopy (FT-NIR). Spruce ( Picea abies L. Karst.) samples collected from stands in Finland, Northern and Southern Poland and Italy were analyzed using two different approaches: for the first approach samples were collected from four provenances scattered in a wide area throughout Europe, while for the second approach the samples were collected from provenances located in a narrow area within the same region in Italy. For the first approach, all the specimens were clearly divided into groups by using statistical methods. The separation among groups from the narrow local area was actual; even though less significant than in the previous case. It was concluded that trees growing in various locations have somewhat different chemical composition, and FT-NIR is sensitive enough to detect such differences. The presented method could be used for tracking wood provenances and as a technical tool for detecting logs harvested illegally from protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shrinking global forest area limits the supply of industrially usable raw resources. This, in combination with the ever-increasing consumption of timber due to population growth can lead to the lack of a positive balance between the annual volumetric growth and consumption of wood. An important innovation toward increasing environmental and economic sustainability of timber production is to reduce the volume of wood residues by minimizing the sawing kerf. It results in higher material yield but may impact the dimensional accuracy of derived products. Therefore, the cutting tool geometry as well as the sawing process as a whole must be carefully optimized to assure optimal use of resources. The goal of this study is to better understand the causes of machining errors that occur when sawing wood with saws of varying thickness of kerf, with a special focus on re-sawing thin lamellae performed on the gang saw. Numerical simulations were tested against experimental results, considering influence of diverse components of cutting forces, in addition to the initial and operating stiffness coefficients of the saw blade. It has been demonstrated that asymmetric loads from the cutting process for the scraper saw blade can cause sawing inaccuracies. The simulation methodology developed in this research can be straightforwardly extended towards determination of optimal geometry of other cutting tools, particularly with the reduced sawing kerf. This may lead to more sustainable use of natural resources as well as an increase in economic gain for the wood processing industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]