Eucalypt forest in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia

Wood, Cork and Bamboo

I. Introduction

II. What is wood?

A. Anatomy

1. vascular cambium

-secondary growth

-sapwood and heartwood

2. ray parenchyma

3. bark (secondary phloem; cork cambium; splitting)

4. hardwood and softwood

-gymnosperms (conifers)

-angiosperms

-trachieds

-vessels

5. Springwood and summerwood

III. Wood Products

1. Firewood

-cord

-heat value of wood

2. Charcoal

-kiln

3. Veneers

-plywood

-particle board; chipboard

4. Paper

a. Original paper

-papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) stem

-rice paper (Tetrapanax papyrifera) pith

-Mulberry paper (Broussonetia papyrifera) bark

b. "Real" paper

-Chinese paper

-European rag paper

-1851: chemical separation of fibers

c. How is paper made?

-mechanical pulping (newsprint)

-chemical pulping (sulfite "acid" paper; sulfate "basic" paper)

d. Paper recycling

5. Rayon and Cellophane

-cellulose xanthate

-vicose

-Lyocell (Tencel)

6. Cork

-Quercus suber

-Robert Hooke and The Cell

7. Bamboo

Bamboo along the roadside in Jamaica

-Different species from Grass family (Poaceae) cross section

-How fast do they grow?

IV. Wood Supplies in the Future

A. Growing Demand

B. Fate of Forests Worldwide

data from FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (www.fao.org): 1990-2000 Data

C. Forestry Management

1. Clear-cutting NZ

2. Even-aged cutting

3. Large tree (uneven-aged) cutting

4. Tree Farms and Agroforestry

-Pinus radiata

-Eucalyptus sp. plantation

-Leucaena data

-Hibiscus cannabinus (Kenaf) facts Kenaf Society products