By Thembi Borras
You don't have to be a landowner, forester, or logger to influence forest management, as a consumer what you buy or don't buy is just as important. Every 2"X4", fence post and sheet of plywood comes from somewhere. When we built our home we specified wood from well managed forests or reclaimed wood, plywood glued with formaldehyde-free glue, fasteners made in the US, low VOC water based surfactants and high quality appliances that are energy efficient. Despite my knowing something about wood, the learning curve was steep and finding a retail outlet close to home that had the product in stock was not typical.
How do you know the wood you buy is from a well managed forest? I can tell you what we did. We cut all of the redwood we used from our land and had it milled on the property into 2"X6" decking and fascias, 2"X12" stringers for the outdoor stairway and boards and battens for the siding. In total, we processed one 38"diameter redwood and eight more ranging in size from 18" to 28". We bought a logging truck load of Douglas-fir logs from a local well managed forest, which we had delivered to a local mill from which our beam stock, headers, and some rafter and joist stock were milled. The balance of the Douglas-fir lumber we purchased was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, from a retail lumberyard out of Monterey and Blue Lake. From the Monterey outlet, we also bought all of our construction grade and sturdifloor plywood, which was also FSC certified. We purchased our 2"X6" tongue and groove Douglas-fir flooring reclaimed from the ceiling and wall of an Arcata mill from a retail yard in Arcata. We bought the pine trees we had milled into tongue and groove 1"X8" ceiling material from a local working forest. We bought tanoak lumber that we finished into trim, windowsills and cabinet faces from a local Company that had harvested it from their land, locally. Finally, we bought the FSC certified hardwood plywood we used for cabinet carcasses and some built-in furniture from a large home improvement chain.
Minimizing the distance the material we used in our home traveled and living near and with the consequences and benefits of our consumption seemed right to us. However, logistics and connections may not allow you to get as close to the source. In which case, we found a level of comfort in buying FSC certified wood. Wood from FSC certified sources is evaluated by a third party initially, then again every five years according to 10 Principles and 57 Criteria that address legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts surrounding forest management and annually according to a subset of those criteria. Certifying the source is done either by certifying the Forest Manager or on a property by property basis. On the manufacturing end, the mill or plant, in order for it to use the FSC label must keep the wood from the FSC certified source separate. This is called Chain of Custody certification. To view the criteria used in our region go to http://www.fscus.org/, click on standards and policies and click on Pacific Coast Standards. To help you find the retail outlet closest to you that sells FSC certified wood go to the same website and click on product search, click on Metafore International Database , select the product, specify FSC certification, select the country and go.
Showing posts with label Douglas-fir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Douglas-fir. Show all posts
November 12, 2006
January 29, 2006
Causes of Decline of Inland Douglas-fir
By Thembi Borras
A reader from the Iron Peak area of Mendocino County asks why a number of good-size Douglas fir have died over the last five or so years?
Jack Marshall, Forest Pathologist at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, corroborated the readers observations reporting an increase in the death of Douglas-fir in the vicinity of Willits north to Laytonville. However, the number of dead trees observed has been declining since its height in 2003. The flat-headed fir borer and the Douglas-fir engraver beetle are the likely mortality agents. The flat-headed fir borer can cause mortality in any sized Douglas-fir tree. The Douglas-fir engraver beetle can cause mortality in trees less than 10" in diameter. Weakened trees are most susceptible to intrusion by insects. Biologic pressures and environmental pressures can cause trees to become weak. Weak trees are destined to be outcompeted by their neighbors and relegated to a suppressed or intermediate crown position. Environmental pressures include drought, the effects of a disrupted fire cycle, soil compaction and increased exposure to the elements. Biologic pressures include disease agents. In this case, the Dermea canker causes dieback of limbs and tops which may invite the entrance of the Douglas-fir engraver beetle.
Another reader from the Blue Rock Creek area asks a series of related questions: Can the bark beetle that is killing the Douglas-fir be stopped? Should we let them continue since they are only taking out the "weak" trees? How should they be cut and removed without spreading the beetle?
Native pests will always be in the area, but you can be active in protecting the non-symptomatic population. The Douglas-fir engraver beetle, a bark beetle, and the flat-headed fir borer are native insects. Through early removal of the symptomatic tree, you can slow the population growth. Once cut, treat the slash by lopping and scattering, piling and burning or chipping. Debarking the logs is also effective in that the habitat where beetles breed and larvae feed is destroyed. If you cut an infected tree into firewood, tarping and sealing the piles of wood with clear plastic is an effective way to prevent the emergence of the beetle from the wood. Go to http://www.fire.ca.gov/ click on resource management, then pest management and finally Tree Notes #3 or go directly to http://ceres.ca.gov/foreststeward/pdf/treenote3.pdf for more information.
A portion of this production was gleaned from a conversation with Jack Marshall, Forest Pathologist at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. If you have a local disease or insect question for Jack Marshall, he can be reached at Howard Forest in Willits at 707-459-7448.
A reader from the Iron Peak area of Mendocino County asks why a number of good-size Douglas fir have died over the last five or so years?
Jack Marshall, Forest Pathologist at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, corroborated the readers observations reporting an increase in the death of Douglas-fir in the vicinity of Willits north to Laytonville. However, the number of dead trees observed has been declining since its height in 2003. The flat-headed fir borer and the Douglas-fir engraver beetle are the likely mortality agents. The flat-headed fir borer can cause mortality in any sized Douglas-fir tree. The Douglas-fir engraver beetle can cause mortality in trees less than 10" in diameter. Weakened trees are most susceptible to intrusion by insects. Biologic pressures and environmental pressures can cause trees to become weak. Weak trees are destined to be outcompeted by their neighbors and relegated to a suppressed or intermediate crown position. Environmental pressures include drought, the effects of a disrupted fire cycle, soil compaction and increased exposure to the elements. Biologic pressures include disease agents. In this case, the Dermea canker causes dieback of limbs and tops which may invite the entrance of the Douglas-fir engraver beetle.
Another reader from the Blue Rock Creek area asks a series of related questions: Can the bark beetle that is killing the Douglas-fir be stopped? Should we let them continue since they are only taking out the "weak" trees? How should they be cut and removed without spreading the beetle?
Native pests will always be in the area, but you can be active in protecting the non-symptomatic population. The Douglas-fir engraver beetle, a bark beetle, and the flat-headed fir borer are native insects. Through early removal of the symptomatic tree, you can slow the population growth. Once cut, treat the slash by lopping and scattering, piling and burning or chipping. Debarking the logs is also effective in that the habitat where beetles breed and larvae feed is destroyed. If you cut an infected tree into firewood, tarping and sealing the piles of wood with clear plastic is an effective way to prevent the emergence of the beetle from the wood. Go to http://www.fire.ca.gov/ click on resource management, then pest management and finally Tree Notes #3 or go directly to http://ceres.ca.gov/foreststeward/pdf/treenote3.pdf for more information.
A portion of this production was gleaned from a conversation with Jack Marshall, Forest Pathologist at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. If you have a local disease or insect question for Jack Marshall, he can be reached at Howard Forest in Willits at 707-459-7448.
December 11, 2005
Best Wood for Burning
By Thembi Borras
What is the best tree species for firewood? The answer is a function of abundance, availability, splitability, presence or lack thereof of messy sap, density and energy content.
The most abundant hardwood in the managed timberland on which I work is tanoak. The most available species for a low price or free are the less dense hardwoods and conifers, in fact I have found it hard to give pine and willow away. The most splitable woods are species that tend to have straight grain. Others have entangled fibers and can be very difficult to split. Some wood splits easiest when green such as live oak, madrone and tanoak and some split much easier when dry and brittle, such as fir and some pines. Obviously the conifers have the messy sap, and are not preferred because of their sap. Many people believe that burning sap will lead to excessive accumulations of creosote. However, if the wood burning system is functioning properly, above normal levels of creosote should not accumulate. The easiest and best fire is built by using a mixture of both softwoods and hardwoods. Softwoods start burning easily, and the hardwoods provide for long burning and good "coaling" qualities.
All wood, regardless of species, has about the same energy content per pound. The different species vary only in density. The higher the density, the higher the energy content per cord. A cord is 4' high by 4' deep and is 8' long. Energy content is often measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs). The following are the approximate number of BTUs produced per cord burned of local species: willow 18, redwood and grand fir 19, big leaf maple 22, western hemlock 23, California bay, black walnut and Douglas-fir 25, tanoak, white oak and black oak 27, madrone 30 and live oak 35.
Most folks will say madrone is the best tree species for firewood, but I encourage you to consider other species, which may be more available, less expensive and may be burnt regardless, in slash piles or wildland fires, without the benefit of heating your home. Ultimately, it is more important to have wood that is cut and split to the right size and properly dried than it is to get the most dense wood available.
For more information, visit the website http://www.woodheat.org/ and http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/homeandwork/homes/inside/heatandcool/fireplaces.html, from which this production was gleaned.
What is the best tree species for firewood? The answer is a function of abundance, availability, splitability, presence or lack thereof of messy sap, density and energy content.
The most abundant hardwood in the managed timberland on which I work is tanoak. The most available species for a low price or free are the less dense hardwoods and conifers, in fact I have found it hard to give pine and willow away. The most splitable woods are species that tend to have straight grain. Others have entangled fibers and can be very difficult to split. Some wood splits easiest when green such as live oak, madrone and tanoak and some split much easier when dry and brittle, such as fir and some pines. Obviously the conifers have the messy sap, and are not preferred because of their sap. Many people believe that burning sap will lead to excessive accumulations of creosote. However, if the wood burning system is functioning properly, above normal levels of creosote should not accumulate. The easiest and best fire is built by using a mixture of both softwoods and hardwoods. Softwoods start burning easily, and the hardwoods provide for long burning and good "coaling" qualities.
All wood, regardless of species, has about the same energy content per pound. The different species vary only in density. The higher the density, the higher the energy content per cord. A cord is 4' high by 4' deep and is 8' long. Energy content is often measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs). The following are the approximate number of BTUs produced per cord burned of local species: willow 18, redwood and grand fir 19, big leaf maple 22, western hemlock 23, California bay, black walnut and Douglas-fir 25, tanoak, white oak and black oak 27, madrone 30 and live oak 35.
Most folks will say madrone is the best tree species for firewood, but I encourage you to consider other species, which may be more available, less expensive and may be burnt regardless, in slash piles or wildland fires, without the benefit of heating your home. Ultimately, it is more important to have wood that is cut and split to the right size and properly dried than it is to get the most dense wood available.
For more information, visit the website http://www.woodheat.org/ and http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/homeandwork/homes/inside/heatandcool/fireplaces.html, from which this production was gleaned.
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