Treesearch

The inventory of basidiomycetes of the Greater Antilles, with special emphasis on the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Site, was a 4 year project initiated in 1996 with funding from the USA National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biotic Surveys and Inventories Program. The objective was to survey and inventory all basidiomycetes except rust fungi on the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Hispaniola and Jamaica. Although Cuba was not visited, historical records from there have been included in the analyses.

The conversion factor generally used to convert logs measured in board feet to cubic meters has traditionally been set at 4.53. Because of diminishing old growth, large diameter trees, the average conversion factor has risen, as illustrated in this analysis of Washington state sawmill data over the period 1970–1998. Conversion factors for coastal and interior Washington were estimated at 6.76 and 5.93, respectively, up from 4.0 to 4.5 in the 1970s. Average sawlog diameters over the same period were estimated to have declined from 56 to 29 cm for coastal Washington and from 41 to 25 cm for...

Wood/plastic composites are increasingly examined for non-structural building applications. As outdoor applications become more widespread, durability becomes an issue. Ultraviolet exposure can lead to photodegradation, resulting in a change in appearance and/or mechanical properties. Photodegradation can be slowed through the addition of photostabilizers. This study examines the performance of photostabilized HDPE/wood flour composites after accelerated weathering. A full factorial experimental design was used to determine the effects ofhindered amine light stabilizers (HALS), a W...

Predictor sort experiments attempt to make use of the correlation between a predictor that can be measured prior to the start of an experiment and the response variable that we are investigating. Properly designed and analyzed, they can reduce necessary sample sizes, increase statistical power, and reduce the lengths of confidence intervals. However, if the non- random nature of the predictor sort is not taken into account, problems can occur. In particular, standard one-sided lower confidence bounds on quantiles of a normal distribution are overly conservative in a predictor sort situation...

The main objective of this study was to gather information on the volume of wood products used by industrial manufacturers across the United States (U.S.). Specific objectives included the following: 1. To identify and categorize the main industrial manufacturing industries in the U.S. that are likely to use wood products (using the North American Industrial Classification System - NAICS); 2. To quantify the type and volume of wood products used by these manufacturers; 3. To see whether that volume has increased, decreased or stayed the same from the past few years and if it is expected to...

High-power microwave cooking of commercial black spruce pulpwood logs was investigated as a pretreatment for mechanical pulping. Several dozen logs were treated at a variety of power levels (10 to 50 kW) and for various times (1 to 10 min). The mechanical pulping trials resulted in significant energy savings-up to 15% for the highest power level. In addition, there was a corresponding increase in handsheet properties (+35% burst index, +20% tear index, and +13% tensile index) and a modest reduction in brightness (-10%). Handsheets were made to simulate a lightweight coated furnish, and...

U.S. papermakers should have plenty of available fiber due to expanding production, better forest management, and new production technology.

Current building codes typically call for attic ventilation to minimize condensation on the underside of roof sheathing. Summer cooling of attic air, minimizing ice dams, and extending the service life of the roof materials often are cited as additional benefits of attic ventilation. In fact, most asphalt shingle manufacturers warrant their products only for ventilated roofs.

This report provides a general overview of current log sort yard operations in the United States, including an extensive literature review and information collected during on-site visits to several operations throughout the nation. Log sort yards provide many services in marketing wood and fiber by concentrating, merchandising, processing, sorting, and adding value to logs. Such operations supply forest products firms with desired raw materials, which helps improve their bottom line by reducing the number of marginal logs processed. Ultimately, sorting logs leads to better use of the...

This chapter provides an overview of the physiology and associated molecular genetics of wood- decaying fungi as they relate to organopollutant degradation. White-rot fungi are characterized by an ability to fragment all major structural polymers of wood including lignin. More poorly understood are the brown-rot fungi, which rapidly depolymerize cellulosic materials while only modifying lignin. Collectively, these wood- and litter-degrading fungi play a pivotal role in the carbon cycle. In fact, white-rot fungi are the only microbes known to efficiently mineralize fully lignified tissue....