From Ecopedia

Overview

Wood is an organic natural composite of embedded cellulose fibers, which is produced as xylem (secondary xylem) in trees or other woody plant stems. As with most plant stems, wood helps to transfer nutrients and water to the tree’s leaves and tissues to support in growth development. ^[1]

From an industrial perspective, wood serves many purposes to human beings as it can be easily used for fuel and construction. Most modern homes are built using a wooden frame that serves as the basis for housing construction developments. Additionally, wood is commonly used to produce furniture, paper, packaging, and even weaponry.

Historically, would is also used as a means of Carbon Dating and dendrochronolgy, in which growth rings can be seen on a wooden log to determine the life pattern of a particular wooden object.^[2] These growth rings are evident because wood has the ability to actually store carbon within it’s body, which produces these rings used for carbon dating.

Environmental Information

Industrial Benefits

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When used as a construction material, wood assures minimal energy consumption as well as lowest emission of global warming causing Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Timber-framed houses consume very little energy due to excellent thermal insulation properties of wood.

Moreover increased usage of wooden products tends to promote forestry by enhancing carbon skin effect apart from reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide.^[3]

The Timber Frame construction method is highly eco-friendly, unlike conventional mortar or brick construction. Timber frame houses are most energy efficient compared to other construction materials.

Unlike steel, which requires 500 kilowatt hours to manufacture one cubic meter of steel, only 30 kilowatt hours of timber is required to produce same amount of wood.^[4]

Deforestation

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Because of the industrial benefits of wood and timber, many environmental activists are concerned with deforestation. By cutting down trees for industrial use, the natural habitats of forest-dwelling species are negatively impacted and the cause of much debate. Additionally, trees are responsible for providing oxygen for all living organisms, and also for storing carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere as forests are known to be carbon sinks.

To deter the controversy and debate surrounding deforestation, many corporations have established tree-farms in which the sole-purpose is to grow trees in order to cut-them down for industrial use.

Carbon Sinks

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Forests can be used as environment-promoting carbon sinks by harvesting timber on a large scale and converting the timber into useful wood products that carry on continual carbon storing. The carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere is used by trees for photosynthesis, in turn promoting healthy growth and oxygen production.

Energy Storage and Efficiency

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Wood is regarded as an efficient way to accumulate and store solar energy. Besides, wood contributes significantly to enhance positive carbon effect by recovering energy embedded in end-of-life wooden products.

Compared to fossil fuels, wood fuel is more beneficial to the environment because wood is more sustainable and can be replenished continually, although efficient forest management needs to be practiced to ensure little or no biomass degradation.

Moreover, wood fuel poses no threat of acid rains as the fuel contains minimal levels of sulfur and heavy metals.^[5]

Unlike fossil fuels, wood fuel is a renewable fuel with high energy efficiency assuring reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Wood product manufacturing requires very little energy compared to other products made of plastic, steel, aluminum or other metals. Almost 75% of energy utilized in wood product manufacturing is produced from various wood residues as well as from recovered wood.^[6]

Carbon Neutrality and Wood burning

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Wood is found to be carbon neutral, if produced and used sustainably. Wood combustion leads to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, whereas trees absorb the atmospheric carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. From the environmental standpoint, wood combustion is beneficial. Additionally, wood fuel emits no sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere unlike oil or coal.^[7]

Incomplete wood burning (low efficient stoves in Asian parts often lead to incomplete wood combustion) most often leads to the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and methane which contribute to global-warming-causing greenhouse effect.

Traditional wood fuel technologies, thus, are inadequate and require improvement.^[8]

PEFC Certification

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PEFC certification, a framework for mutually recognizing credible single-issue regional or national forest certification schemes initiated to meet international guidelines for sustainable forest management, ensures environmentally-safe use of wood.^[9]

References

1. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood
2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood
3. ↑ http://www.premierforest.co.uk/Wood-and-the-Environment.html
4. ↑ http://www.premierforest.co.uk/Wood-and-the-Environment.html
5. ↑ http://www.premierforest.co.uk/Wood-and-the-Environment.html
6. ↑ http://www.premierforest.co.uk/Wood-and-the-Environment.html
7. ↑ http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/HC270799/RWEDP/i_environment.html
8. ↑ http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/HC270799/RWEDP/i_environment.html
9. ↑ http://www.premierforest.co.uk/Wood-and-the-Environment.html