Forest product

A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in form of firewood or charcoal) or the finished structural materials used for the construction of buildings, or as a raw material, in the form of wood pulp, that is used in the production of paper. All other non-wood products derived from forest resources, comprising a broad variety of other forest products, are collectively described as non-timber forest products (NTFP).^[1][2][3] Non-timber forest products are viewed to have fewer negative effects on forest ecosystem when providing income sources for local community.^[4]

Globally, about 1.15 billion ha of forest is managed primarily for the production of wood and non-wood forest products. In addition, 749 million ha is designated for multiple use, which often includes production.^[5]

Worldwide, the area of forest designated primarily for production has been relatively stable since 1990 but the area of multiple-use forest has decreased by about 71 million ha.^[5]

Forest Log Piles

Forest Products Details

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations publishes an annual yearbook of forest products. The FAO Yearbook of Forest Products^[6] is a compilation of statistical data on basic forest products for all countries and territories of the world. It contains series of annual data on the volume of production and the volume and value of trade in forest products. It includes tables showing direction of trade and average unit values of trade for certain products. Statistical information in the yearbook is based primarily on data provided to the FAO Forestry Department by the countries through questionnaires or official publications. In the absence of official data, FAO makes an estimate based on the best information available. FAO also publishes an annual survey of pulp and paper production capacities around the world.^[7] The survey presents statistics on pulp and paper capacity and production by country and by grade. The statistics are based on information submitted by correspondents worldwide, most of them pulp and paper associations, and represents 85% of the world production of paper and paperboard.

Based on these demands, the forest products can be further explored. Pulp and paper industry has high volume demand for the wood materials including both softwood and hardwood. Wood industry can consume large volume and varieties of wood products including logs, lumbers, furniture, and other products.

Producing Forest Resources

Producers of forest products are heavily depending on the forest types and ownership (see Forest). As woods are the dominant product of the forest product, the processes of producing wood products are important.^[8] The general processes for commercial land can include seedling production, site preparation, planting, applying fertilizers and herbicides, thinning (pre-commercial or commercial), and logging.^[9] The processes may vary due to different species and spatial locations.^[10] Products category may include logs, lumbers, residues, etc. For non-timber forest products, the processes can have a large variety.^[11]

Forest Products in Sustainability

In 2015, the United Nations set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as global goals from 2015 to 2030. As renewable resources on earth, forest products can assist in several SDGs in this agenda.

Zero hunger

As forest products can provide a large variety of foods (e.g. nuts, fruits, sugar), hunger issue can be addressed by properly managing the forest.

Good health and well-being for people

Forests not only sequester carbon dioxide and provide oxygen but also play an essential role in our ecosystem. Forests are crucial to avoid soil erosion, control pollutants, balance the eco-system, and so on.^[12]

Affordable and clean energy

Forest products, including wood chips and forest residues, can be converted to bioethanol, biodfuel, biogas, and other bioenergy sources (see also Bioenergy).^[13] Common conversion technologies can contain fermentation, pyrolysis, gasification, and other technologies.^[14] These renewable energy sources can be a substitute for traditional fossil fuels.

FAO, which supported the classification of wood pellets in 2012 and has tracked them ever since, has found production jumping nearly 150 percent to 44 million tonnes by 2021: it largely ascribes this expansion to rising demand driven by the European Commission’s bioenergy targets.^[15]

Climate action

Forest products can work towards reducing global warming trends when sourced in sustainably managed forests. One core idea is that forest products themselves are storage for carbon dioxide. First, as mentioned above, bioenergy can replace fossil energy and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions although its combustion initially produces more GHG than fossil fuels per unit of produced energy: it takes several decades or even centuries for new trees to re-absorb the carbon emitted by burning their predecessors. Second, timbers from forest can be sustainable construction materials. Rather than concrete that is hard for degradation and recycled, structural timbers can be recycled for re-use or for biodegradation.

Resource Pressures

See also: Sustainable forest management

Many forest management policies have been implemented that impact forest product economics, including forest access restrictions, harvesting fees, and harvest limits. Deforestation, global warming and other environmental concerns have increasingly affected the availability and sustainability of forest products, as well as the economies of regions dependent upon forestry around the world. In recent years, the idea of sustainable forestry, which aims to preserve crop yields without causing irreversible damage to ecosystem health, has changed the relationship between environmentalists and the forest products industry. Stakeholders in the forest products industry include government departments, commercial enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), policy-makers and analysts, private and international organizations.

See also

• Agroforestry
• Board foot
• Clearcutting
• Cord (volume)
• Forest management
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
• International Wood Products Journal
• Lumber yard
• Outline of forestry
• Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
• Silviculture
• Stere
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

Sources

  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken from Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings​, FAO, FAO.

References

1. Belcher, B. M. (2005-06-01). "Forest product markets, forests and poverty reduction" (PDF). International Forestry Review. 7 (2): 82–89. doi:10.1505/ifor.2005.7.2.82. hdl:10170/476. ISSN 1465-5489. S2CID 54083558.
2. Ticktin, T. (2004). "The ecological implications of harvesting non-timber forest products". Journal of Applied Ecology. 41 (1): 11–21. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2004.00859.x. ISSN 1365-2664.
3. Belcher, Brian; Schreckenberg, Kathrin (2007). "Commercialisation of Non-timber Forest Products: A Reality Check" (PDF). Development Policy Review. 25 (3): 355–377. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7679.2007.00374.x. ISSN 1467-7679. S2CID 154953328.
4. Endress, Bryan A.; Gorchov, David L.; Noble, Robert B. (2004). "Non‐timber forest product extraction: effects of harvest and browsing on an understory palm". Ecological Applications. 14 (4): 1139–1153. doi:10.1890/02-5365. JSTOR 4493611.
5. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings. Rome: FAO. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca8753en. ISBN 978-92-5-132581-0. S2CID 130116768.
6. "FAO Yearbook of Forest Products 2012" (PDF). fao.org/forestry/statistics/80570/en/. FAO. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
7. "Pulp and paper capacity survey 2013-2018" (PDF). fao.org/forestry/statistics/81757/en/. FAO. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
8. Heinrich, R.; Dykstra, D. P. (1997). "Forest harvesting and transport: Old problems, new solutions". Proceedings of the XI World Forestry Congress 13–22 October 1997, Antalya, Turkey. 3, D: productive fun.
9. Wagner, Francis G.; Oneil, Elaine; Lippke, Bruce; Johnson, Leonard; Hubbard, Steve; Bergman, Richard; Puettmann, Maureen E. (2010-03-22). "Cradle-to-Gate Life-Cycle Inventory of us Wood Products Production: Corrim Phase I and Phase II Products". Wood and Fiber Science. 42: 15–28. ISSN 0735-6161.
10. Johnson, Leonard; Lippke, Bruce; Oneil, Elaine (July 2012). "Modeling Biomass Collection and Woods Processing Life-Cycle Analysis*". Forest Products Journal. 62 (4): 258–272. doi:10.13073/fpj-d-12-00019.1. ISSN 0015-7473.
11. Arnold, J. M.; Pérez, M. R. (2001). "Can non-timber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives?". Ecological Economics. 39 (3): 437–447. doi:10.1016/S0921-8009(01)00236-1. hdl:10486/1313.
12. Flowers, April. . Science News. Redorbit.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
13. Fischer, G.; Schrattenholzer, L. (2001). "Global bioenergy potentials through 2050" (PDF). Biomass and Bioenergy. 20 (3): 151–159. doi:10.1016/S0961-9534(00)00074-X.
14. Djomo, Sylvestre Njakou; Kasmioui, Ouafik El; Ceulemans, Reinhart (2011). "Energy and greenhouse gas balance of bioenergy production from poplar and willow: a review". GCB Bioenergy. 3 (3): 181–197. doi:10.1111/j.1757-1707.2010.01073.x. ISSN 1757-1707. S2CID 85777553.
15. Sustainability by numbers: Forest products at FAO. Rome: FAO. 2023.

External links

• Harry Nichols Whitford (1920). "Tropical Forest Products" . Encyclopedia Americana.
• Forests Products data in Canada since 1990