Monday, April 18, 2011

Lumber Resources Can Be Useful Every Day

By Adriana Noton


Forest products have played their part in national economies for many centuries. In children's stories there are many woodcutters who usually live solitary lives and bring hints of deep dark forests into the stories. They are among the earliest of fictional products themselves, and probably produced charcoal and timber that were much needed products, and still are.

In some desert mountains villages have been built on the sides of treeless mountain slopes. They are composed almost entirely of stone but even in the most remote places timber has been used for roof trusses, illustrating the importance of timber in buildings. In well forested countries many houses are of course built entirely of timber.

Timber growing lush in equatorial forests has been left largely undisturbed until recently. However, northern countries have used timber in a sustained manner for centuries. In the reign of Henry V111 and Elizabeth 1 in England forests of oak were decimated in order to build great navies. Massive trees were hauled by horsepower to coastal shipyards to serve as masts for sailing ships.

A very important product of natural forests is oxygen which is given out by trees. It is needed by animals and human beings, and helps to maintain the natural balance of gasses on the planet. Some people are very concerned that logging companies cut down trees indiscriminately resulting in deforestation and less oxygen in the environment.

Artificial forestation can cause more harm than logging. In some countries vast plantations of alien trees have been planted for commercial purposes. Examples are on the east coast of Africa where alien pine and eucalypt plantations have been allowed. They cover hills and valleys like a green carpet of death, killing all the natural fauna and flora beneath them. In addition they leech water from the natural wetlands and streamlets. The timber from these quick growing forests of alien plants is used for the production of planks and primarily wood pulp for paper and bio-fuels.

Wood pulp for paper and packaging is a relatively new industry having only been in operation since the mid nineteenth century. When northern supplies of softwood began to dwindle pine and gum plantations were established in southern locations. The mono-culture of alien trees produces quick returns since trees can be harvested with fifteen years and used for planks or pulp.

Young pine trees are debarked and transported by road or rail to pulping plants. They may be made into chips and exported as such or processed further into paper for local use. Chemical, mechanical or thermal processes are used.

Wood pulp is perhaps the most important of artificial forest products because it can be used for producing bio fuels as well as paper. Being a renewable resource trees may be a better source of fuel than fossil fuels. However, planks and lumber are also produced in man made forests. The long straight eucalypt poles are suitable for telephone poles and trusses. Softwood planks from pine are used extensively in the manufacture of cheap furniture.

In a modern economy there is use for some forest product in almost every sphere. In an office alone there will be forest products ranging from tissue boxes to the trusses holding up the roof. But it remains a possibility that the most important forest products may be the oxygen produced from living trees.




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