Development and maintenance of structurally complex forests in landscapes formerly managed for timber production is an increasingly common management objective. It has been postulated that the rate of forest structural development increases with site productivity. We tested this hypothesis for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forests using a network of permanent study plots es...

The Amazon is a globally important system, providing a host of ecosystem services from climate regulation to food sources. It is also home to a quarter of all global diversity. Large swathes of forest are removed each year, and many models have attempted to predict the spatial patterns of this forest loss. The spatial patterns of deforestation are determined largely by the patterns of roads tha...

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a powerful tool for the non-destructive measurement of dynamic processes in wood. After more than 25 years of research at Luleå University of Technology in the field of CTscanning of wood material, the first industrial CT-scanners are now installed in sawmill production for the insitu measurement of internal log features to steer of the sawmill process with the...

Understanding maternity roost requirements is fundamental to guide timber production forest management given such roosts are vital to sustain bat populations. We tracked lactating females of three tree cavity-roosting species: Gould's long-eared bat (Nyctophilus gouldi) (n = 7), eastern broad-nosed bat (Scotorepens orion) (n = 6) and little forest bat (Vespadelus vulturnus) (n = 25), over five ...

East African Blackwood is the common name for Dalbergia melanoxylon, the most valuable timber growing in the Miombo woodlands of southern Tanzania, and a potential flagship species to justify conservation of this habitat. The population density, structure and exploitation of this economically and socially important species were studied in an area of southern Tanzania. Harvestable timber was fou...

Whitewood (Endospermum medullosum) is a tree species that shows promise for plantation timber production in Vanuatu, but few growth data are available to inform yield forecasts. Three simple relationships summarizing stand dynamics, namely height-age, diameter-height-stocking, and mortality-basal area relationships, were calibrated with data from 15 plots to form the basis of a model for silvic...

An early focus on structural use of processed rather than round timber resulted in an underestimation of the structural advantages of retaining the natural form of small-diameter round timber. In the round and tapered form, timbers are not susceptible to the strength-reducing effects of diving grain and exposed juvenile wood. Fiber continuity around knots on the surface of a debarked log rarely...

An issue of some interest to those in the lumber and timber industry is the rapid matching of a cut log face with its mate. For example, the U.S. Forest Service experiences a considerable loss of its valuable tree properties through poaching every year. They desire a tool that can rapidly scan a stack of cut timber faces, taken in a suspect lumber mill yard, and identify matches to a scanned ph...

Wildfires traditionally have been regarded as a threat to many of the multiple resources produced by forest lands. Timber, fish, recreation, and water are all important forest products that can be adversely affected by wildfires. The greatest threat, however, is to the long-term productivity of the land. Foresters are particularly aware of this threat because the production of their primary cro...