softwood

The characteristics of American softwood and its strengths and weaknesses were discussed at a seminar in Dubai, UAE, hosted by the American Softwoods (AMSO), the promotional partnership formed by three major US softwood trade associations.

In unbleached softwoods, calcium content varies from 1000 to about 4000 mg/kg of oven dried pulp.

Luckily for the forest industry, the country can grow hardwoods and softwoods in equal quantities and on a relatively short rotation basis.

But 2010 is a microsecond away in the life of the planet, and demand will clearly grow rapidly, if not exponentially, as poor countries develop.(7) But at least there is hope that, as far as softwoods are concerned, it may be possible to achieve sustainability with a combination of enlightened arboriculture, sensible construction, products like LVL and new approaches to building like those pioneered by Richard Burton and Frei Otto for John Makepeace at Hooke Park(8) (and more recently by Edward Cullinan Architects) which explore the tensile properties of new glues and fabrics to make possible use of thin softwood thinnings green, without seasoning.

American softwood exports to the Mena region in 2011 hit a record $18 million worth, prompting the participation of American Softwoods (AMSO) in an upcoming major wood and wood machinery show in Dubai.

Those not working with softwoods, said Stock, "are still enjoying other benefits" from more competitive pricing within the industry as a whole.

Clonal propagation of softwoods is arguably the most important currently emerging forest technology, with expected benefits of more than 10% reduction in energy required to produce chemical pulp and a 10% reduction in wood production costs.

This is multiplied by a factor of 1.91 for softwoods and 2.44 for hardwoods, or about 2.18 for all species, according to researcher Richard A.

With the new location, the company says it will be able to take advantage of the six hardwoods available amongst the internationally recognized softwoods in the Pacific Northwest.

We tentatively attributed this behavior, significantly different from that of softwood pulps, to the milder conditions used in the pulping and/or to topochemical effects rather than to differences in the chemical structure of the glucuronoxylans from hardwoods and softwoods.

For example, the pine forests of the Southern Piedmont and Coastal Plains contain relatively little hardwood sawtimber, the forests of the Appalachian mountains are primarily hardwood, and forests of the Lake States contain both hardwoods and softwoods [12].

The biggest advantage that softwoods have over hardwoods is that they rarely warp or become distorted with changes in moisture.