Treesearch

Wood failure percentage (WFP) is an important index for evaluating the bond strength of plywood. Currently, the method used for detecting WFP is visual inspection, which lacks efficiency. In order to improve it, image processing methods are applied to wood failure detection. The present study used thresholding and K-means clustering algorithms in wood failure detection, and four kinds of plywood were manufactured to analyze the influences of wood species and adhesive. Results show that the detection by K-means clustering method is more accurate than thresholding method; it could better...

Research is being conducted to evaluate potential preservatives to replace zinc naphthenate (ZnN) for use in dip-treatment of wooden packaging materials. In this study, laboratory tests evaluated the efficacy of preservatives in protecting Southern pine and yellow poplar against decay fungi and termites. Nine preservatives were evaluated at one or two concentrations, and in some cases with two dip times. The results of this study indicate that higher concentrations of most of the preservatives evaluated will provide protection similar to or greater than that of ZnN. Four of the formulations...

We formulate five guidelines for introducing new genera, plus one recommendation how to publish the results of scientific research. We recommend that reviewers and editors adhere to these guidelines. We propose that the underlying research is solid, and that the results and the final solutions are properly discussed. The six criteria are: (1) all genera that are recognized should be monophyletic; (2) the coverage of the phylogenetic tree should be wide in number of species, geographic coverage, and type species of the genera under study; (3) the branching of the phylogenetic trees has to...

Manufacturers of wood plastic composites (WPCs) have recently introduced capped decking to their product lines. These new materials have begun to take market share from the previous generation of uncapped products that possessed a homogenous composition throughout the thickness of their cross-section. These capped offerings have been introduced with claims that the pure polymer cap provides protection to the wood/polymer interior, helps keep the composite core dry preventing water ingress and protects it from weathering and issues associated with biological degradation. This paper briefly...

The National BMP Program provides National Core BMPs, standardized monitoring protocols to evaluate implementation and effectiveness of the National Core BMPs, and a data management system to store and analyze the resulting monitoring data. BMP evaluations are completed by interdisciplinary teams of resource specialists and include assessments of whether BMP prescriptions were planned, implemented, and effective at meeting water resource objectives. BMP implementation and BMP effectiveness are rated separately according to a standardized rating system. A composite BMP performance rating...

Interest in cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)/cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) made from woody biomass has been growing rapidly with close attention from pulp and paper industry, governments, universities, and research institutes. Many new products development with CNCs have been studied intensively. However, little life-cycle analysis (LCA) has been conducted for the environmental impact from these nano-material-containing products and their associated production. Life-cycle analysis can identify environmental "hotspots", which can guide process design changes leading to reductions in the environmen...

Trees alter their use and allocation of nutrients in response to drought, and changes in soil nutrient cycling and trace gas flux (N2O and CH4) are observed when experimental drought is imposed on forests. In extreme droughts, trees are increasingly susceptible to attack by pests and pathogens, which can lead to major changes in nutrient flux to the soil. Extreme droughts often lead to more common and more intense forest fires, causing dramatic changes in the nutrient storage and loss from forest ecosystems. Changes in the future manifestation of drought will affect carbon uptake and...

Summary 1. The provisioning of ecosystem services to society is increasingly under pressure from global change. Changing disturbance regimes are of particular concern in this context due to their high potential impact on ecosystem structure, function and composition. Resiliencebased stewardship is advocated to address these changes in ecosystem management, but its operational implementation has remained challenging. 2. We review observed and expected changes in disturbance regimes and their potential impacts on provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services, concentrat...