By Simon Smith
According to the 2018 Forestry Commission survey, our forest landmass for croppable hardwoods is approximately 11.8% in the UK, compared to France’s 34%, Germany’s 32% and even Italy’s 27%. Since the last war, there has not been sufficient regeneration of the country’s tree population. Meanwhile, land value for alternative end uses has taken priority, with an ever-increasing population and need for space. Woodland, with some exceptions, is diminishing. Sustainability comes at a trade-off cost.
The one outstanding exception for hardwood is the sustainably-managed national forest in the East Midlands, of some 200 square miles, set up from two forested areas but expanded purposefully in the last twenty-five years where recently they have planted their nine millionth tree.
Continued investment in managing forests sustainably is necessary, not for ourselves, but for future generations. Read more on sustainable timber and what that means to us.
What is Sustainable Forestry?
Simply put, a sustainable forest is carefully managed so that felled trees are replaced with seedlings that will grow into healthy, mature trees. The Rainforest Alliance defines it more elegantly as “the extent to which silvicultural practices mimic nature’s patterns of disturbance and regeneration.â€
Sounds simple enough, but there are many factors that make this a complicated and costly mission with ecological, economic and social implications. The conditions need to be right for each tree species and a careful balance must be held between native and non-native species to conserve biodiversity, because improper forestry damages entire ecosystems. Only about nine different species are grown as it is. Enters also some conflict of interest: many commercial woodlands are owned privately for purposes more important to the owners than to others.
Why Invest in Forestry?
Wood is one of very few naturally renewable resources and the sawmillers want to protect their supply base with skilful management of planting and cropping. The point of sustainable forest management is to allow for ecological measures while also preserving the livelihoods of those who depend upon the industry, which involves the felling of trees.
There is the ecological factor also. As a general rule of thumb, every ton of growing tree takes out of the air 1.48 tons of carbon. Felling a calculated percentage of trees for fuel will release the same amount of carbon as new trees will absorb, making this practice carbon neutral.
The lock-up of carbon is vital: the more trees, the less pollution, the better the offset against greenhouse gases. As they get older, this function slows down in trees, which is why it makes sense to sustain global efforts to plant young, healthy replacements.
Investment in Forestry Since WWI
In the first and second world wars, the volume of timber cut was the same as the previous hundred years before the Great War. The UK has never really recovered from this, despite the Forestry Commission being established in the early fifties to enable a national re-planting program—mainly softwoods at first to enable a faster-to-market cash crop.
The volume of softwoods coming onto the market will peak and start to slow down over the next 20 years. Ages ago, there used to be a tax inheritance loophole, where growing an ascertainable crop that grows beyond the owner’s lifespan and can then be passed on to others was a cute way of avoiding death duties. Lots of softwood plantations were planted that way, although sadly not all in the appropriate places or habitat.
This loophole was covered, the benefit stopped, and as a result, the investment in forestry has since taken a step backwards.
Where Does Wastage Fit in Sustainable Forestry?
Just past the buttress of tropical hardwoods, the trunk is cylindrical and tends to be very straight in its rush for the canopy. This dash for light is key in a rainforest environment. Unlike tropical hardwoods, in temperate climates, all softwoods and hardwoods grow in a cone-like manner.
When we cut a log from a temperate hardwood tree into T/T planks, we expect to get approximately 65% recovery from this cone. Imagine also cutting a 1.00m diameter log into 27mm after taking off the side slabs to square up the log: the waste in saw-dust alone can be 70/80mm.
Once the timber is in its plank T/T state, cutting this to a square edge leads to the next waste factor: the cutting to width, which can lead to 50% loss and upwards.
Once the square-edge nominal sized piece is on the bench, it is then machined to a finished size, which loses more timber, then cross-cut to a dead length, losing yet more timber. This is where you ask yourself… did I measure twice, to cut once?
Wastage is inevitable at each step of the timber trade, from planting to milling and finishing. Every effort can and must be made, not just to reduce this from the very start, but so we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot for generations to come.
WL West & Sons Ltd is a timber merchant and sawmill business with 150 years of experience. We provide a wide range of air-dried oak and kiln-dried oak timber products and supplies. We also build and install custom projects for our customers.
Our wood products, building materials and certified wood are manufactured and sold with the endorsement of forest certification and the Forest Stewardship Council FSC
For more news, tips and updates, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
For entirely finished products, timber supplies or woodworking tools, have a look at our Retail Shop (which is temporarily closed for lockdown but will re-open in due course).
Liked this article? More like this:
Hardwood Timber: Ash Wood Properties & Uses
