Treesearch

Located in 23 countries, 40 forest-products research and development organizations outside the United States were reviewed in 2004 and 2005. The intent was to obtain a better understanding of how such organizations are structured and administered and their performance judged. Investing over $600 million annually, the 40 organizations employed 7,000 to 7,500 scientists and supporting staff. Especially noteworthy about the organizations are the many ways in which they identify themselves (such as institutes, laboratories, centers); their long history of sustained involvement in forest...

Invasive and small-diameter species have become more prevalent, creating numerous environmental and ecological problems. One potential method to control and eliminate invasive species and thereby promote natural rangeland restoration is developing new, value-added uses for them. Saltcedar (Tamarisk ramosissima) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) were investigated for use as fillers in wood–plastic composites (WPCs). The chemical composition and thermal stability of wood flours from both invasive species were compared with those of commercial pine wood flour. The wood flours were...

The ability of forest products research and development organizations to contribute to a nation’s well-being requires that they be well organized, effectively managed, and held to high standards of performance. In order to obtain a better understanding of how such organizations are structured and administered, and how they judge organizational performance, a review of forest products and related research organizations beyond the boundaries of the United States was undertaken in 2004-2005. Ninety-three research organizations were initially identified for review, 40 of which were selected...

Measurements of wood density and anatomical properties of wood disks were conducted by SilviScan (CSIRO Australia) and a new imaging technique. The disks included red pine obtained from a never-thinned experimental forest with five different plantation densities and Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine (one normal growth and the other suppressed growth) both supplied by a sawmill. The results indicated that the effect of tree-growing conditions can be effectively characterized by radial annual growth rate. Growth suppression produced wood with less distinction in wood density, tracheid radial...

This report describes a method to examine full-field displacements of both sides of paperboard during tensile testing. Analysis showed out-of-plane shear behavior near the failures zones. The method was reliably used to examine out-of-plane shear in double notch shear specimens. Differences in shear behavior of machine direction and cross-machine direction specimens are described.

The effects of weathering on the surface properties of wood-plastic composites (WPC) were examined. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) based WPCs made from modified wood flour (untreated, extractives free, and holocellulose (delignified) fibers) were subjected to accelerated (xenon-arc) weathering. Colorimetry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to monitor the color change and surface chemistries of the weathered WPC surface. The compositional change that occurred on the WPC surface was determined using pyrolysis GC-MS analysis. The study showed that longer exposure...

Soils and decayed plant litter contain significant quantities of chlorinated aromatic polymers that have a natural but largely unknown origin. We used cupric oxide ligninolysis coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to show that Curvularia inaequalis, a widely distributed litter ascomycete, chlorinated the aromatic rings of lignin in wood that it was degrading. In aspen wood decayed for 24 weeks, two chlorolignin fragments, 5-chlorovanillin and 2-chlorosyringaldehyde, were each found at 10 [mu]g/g of wood (dry weight). These levels resemble those of similar structures generally...