Treesearch

Value inclusion is critical for effective ecosystem science policy and largely emerged from critiques of the value-exclusionary attributes of ecological and economic approaches to value assessments and valuations. But whether and how value is excluded during social–scientific approaches to the assessments and valuations of ecosystem features has not received adequate attention. We identify and discuss instances of when and how value is excluded during social–scientific approaches to the assessments and valuations of ecosystem features to which people ascribe value. We illustrate the...

This study conducted a cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment (LCA) of solid hardwood flooring manufactured in the eastern United States. System boundaries in this study included the following information modules: raw material extraction (A1), raw material transportation (A2), product manufacturing (A3), product transportation (A4), installation (A5), product use (B1-B7), and end-of-life (C1-C4). Two disposal options were considered, landfilling and burning. The burning option captures heat, which displaces natural gas (D stage). A functional unit of 1 m2 of flooring with a weighted average...

Of the many observations reported in cellulose literature, the phenomena of “cocrystallization” and “moisture-induced shift in XRD” (XRD-shift) need re-examination. Does cocrystallization really occur or, entirely, something else is going on? Recent research carried out by the authors suggests that upon hydrothermal treatment of wood-cellulose, where cocrystallization has been reported to be occurring, the cellulose becomes partly crystalline from the pre-existing non-crystalline arrangement.(1, 2). Similarly, although the XRD-shift of wood’s (200) diffraction plane is real, based on the...

The native state of wood-cellulose has proven to be difficult to explore. Contrary to the traditional acceptance of wood-cellulose being crystalline, in 2016, the authors' research reported that the cellulose was not crystalline.[1] New evidence, presented here, further supports the non-crystalline model. This evidence consisted of 64% H2SO4 hydrolysis of tension- and opposite-aspen woods (TW and OW, respectively), anatomical examination of the TW- and OW-woods, presence and absence of the 93 cm-1 Raman band, respectively, in TW G-Iayer and TW S2 layer, and Raman spectra of TW-CNCs, wood...

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) has gained popularity during the past decade in North America, with many advances stemming from completed research and construction projects located in other countries. In particular, CLT has been utilized in vertical construction projects where many of its inherent features have been maximized. Despite these advances, the use of CLT in bridge structures has been limited and CLT has not been adopted into governing bridge design codes. This paper reports the results and conclusions of the laboratory investigation of the feasibility of CLT as a primary...

In the weeks following the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire, an Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team was mobilized to identify and mitigate risks to human life and safety and critical water resources in the surrounding communities, including Oakridge, Oregon. During their assessment, the BAER team used a field guide developed by the Rocky Mountain Research Station to create a soil burn severity map and identify areas prone to elevated erosion. Their field work led to quick assessment of potential harm to water quality in Waldo Lake.

Carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (OA-CNCs) isolated by aqueous recyclable oxalic acid hydrolysis from degreasing cotton were used to observe its self-assembly behavior and chiral nematic properties. The oxalic acid here served as the sole catalyst to esterify and hydrolyze the degreasing cotton. The results indicated that the obtained OA-CNC suspensions were spontaneously phase-separated into a chiral nematic mesophase above a critical concentration, and the occurrence of chiral self-assembly is highly dependent on the aspect ratio and the surface charge of the OA-CNC suspension....

Wood is one of the most abundant biomaterials on Earth, which has been used for centuries in construction applications including furniture, roofing, flooring, and cabinetry. However, wood chips—which are a low-quality and plentiful waste byproduct of lumber milling, woodworking, and shipping operations—have low economic value and complicated disposal methods. In this paper, we propose a strategy for wood chip reuse through the fabrication of bio-based building insulation foam. Through a high-temperature chemical treatment delignification process, we introduced additional small pores within...