Given the continuing efforts underway to develop the market for the use of mass timber in building construction (FPInnovations, 2014), restoring the use of timber in bridges can complement this effort and help to provide more opportunities for the developing mass timber supply chain.
Twelve SBB (spruce bark beetle killed) grade 2 logs were received by FPInnovations, three were confidently assigned a grade 2, but nine were considered suspicious, as the scalers suspected that some internal defects could not be correctly identified visually. CT (computer tomography) scanning and analysis revealed that decay and checking were more extensive than externally visible defects indicated, which led to downgrading 2 logs to grade 4. Pressure treating one of the apparently good quality logs with water and re-scanning enhanced the visibility of the number and depth of checks in CT images and led to downgrading that log as well. Two of the suspicious logs were warmed for 24 hours at 22 degrees to simulate exposure to one summer day in BC Interior, but unlike typical dry pine logs, the many fine checks around these logs opened evenly, without revealing the true depth of any. Another two suspicious logs with signs of decay were cut to analyse decay extent. The decay was far more extensive than even visible in CT images, leading to downgrade of both logs. Overall, 4 of the nine logs considered suspicious and one of the 3 considered good quality SBB killed grade 2 logs were downgraded due to checks and decay not visible to scalers on the study. Although these results are neither statistically significant nor comprehensive, they point to the challenge of scaling SBB logs correctly, without knowledge of internal defects.
The research and technology transfer has national implications that will support bioenergy facilities and rural and Indigenous communities across the country. The CWFC is continuing this work to increase our understanding and expand the safe and sustainable use of biomass for bioenergy.
The researchers suggest partial harvesting - in this case, thinning forests in 20-year increments during the natural pest disturbance periods. The result is a cost-effective and sustainable way to harvest trees and maintain resilient forests.
Forests make up nearly 35 per cent – 347 million hectares – of Canadian land. For the forest sector, that’s a lot of inventory to manage and monitor. To run any successful business, inventory needs to be monitored. That’s why researchers at the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) are enhancing current inventory systems to improve how forest managers, provincial governments, and other communities across Canada manage forests.
Le Canada compte 347 millions d’hectares de forêt, ce qui correspond à près de 35 % de sa super cie. C’est beaucoup de stocks à gérer et surveiller pour le secteur forestier. Pour gérer avec succès une exploitation, une surveillance des stocks s’impose. C’est la raison pour laquelle les chercheurs du Centre canadien sur la bre de bois (CCFB) s’emploient à améliorer les systèmes d’inventaire actuels de manière à améliorer la façon dont les aménagistes forestiers, les gouvernements provinciaux et d’autres collectivités du Canada gèrent les forêts.
The FastTRAC project brought together scientists, foresters and economists from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Laval University, FPInnovations, the Government of Québec, J.D. Irving, and the New Brunswick Tree Improvement Council. They demonstrated tree genomic-assisted selection at the operational scale and highlighted the economic benefits of FastTRAC technology.
Des chercheurs primés du Centre canadien sur la bre de bois du Service canadien des forêts (CCFB/SCF) mènent cette recherche génomique dans le cadre d’un projet appelé FastTRAC (Fast Tests for Rating and Amelioration of Conifers / Tests rapides pour l’amélioration des conifères). Ces travaux transforment les programmes traditionnels d’amélioration génétique des arbres, ils améliorent la sélection des arbres et ils dotent les producteurs de semences de recherches et d’outils essentiels.
La recherche sur les cultures intensives en courte rotation du CCFB fournit les connaissances et la technologie dont nous avons besoin pour atténuer les effets du changement climatique en améliorant la façon dont nous gérons les forêts et utilisons les produits ligneux récoltés.
Compared to slower growing trees like spruces, hybrid poplars and selected aspens grown in these plantations are ready for harvest in less than 20 years. The technology development specialists established this a mixed wood crop to evaluate how short-rotation or fast-growing tree crops (123 to 17 years to maturity) could sustain and expand the bioenergy sector. High-yield crops like these are crucial for the sector, which relies on woody biomass to produce clean energy.
