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Utilization of Forest Products for Sustainable Growth

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Wood Science and Forest Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 2943

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Interests: furniture; circular economy; sustainable forest industries; IR 4.0

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest products are increasingly important to mitigate global climate change, and increased use of forest products is strongly advocated for both non-structural and sustructural applications. In many parts of the world, especially in Europe and North America, wooden buildings, including high-rise ones, are being rapidly constructed as a means to reduce the impact of the construction sector on greenhouse gas emissions. Forest products, with their low carbon footprint and renewable nature, are an ideal material not only for construction but also for the manufacture of many types of products. With the reduced supply of forest products, especially wood resources, from natural forests throughout the world, monoculture forest plantations are taking centre stage. Wood resources from forest plantations are being used for a multitude of applications and are undergoing extensive research and development (R&D) to ensure their acceptance in the marketplace. Nevertheless, forest products continue to harbour some negative perceptions which affect their utilization, especially in areas which require fire resistance, high durability, etc. In order to offset and lay the foundation for greater forest product utilization to facilitate sustainable growth, this volume of the journal welcomes contributions on the following topics, among others:

Carbon footprint of forest products;
Optimum design and manufacture of forest products;
Market perception for green forest products;
Future perspectives for forest products in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era;
Role of forest products in sustainable growth.

Prof. Dr. Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

carbon footprint
LCA
forest products
green building
market
optimum design
SDGs

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Spatial Agglomeration Promote Exports? The Evidence from China’s Wood-Processing Industry

by Chenlu Tao, Baodong Cheng, Lingchao Li, Zhuoran Wei, Qian Zhang, Fawei Chen, Siyi Wang and Chao Yang

Forests 2024, 15(2), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020237 - 26 Jan 2024

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Abstract

Wood processing products can be used as a substitute for some high carbon emission materials, thus contributing significantly to climate change mitigation. China has significant importance in guaranteeing a stable global supply of wood products. However, China has experienced a decline in wood product exports recently, which could affect the world’s progress toward sustainable development. This study focuses on the spatial agglomeration of China’s wood-processing industry and explores the potential of integrating spatial agglomeration to address the diminishing export growth. We found that the spatial agglomeration of China’s wood-processing industry generally increased rapidly between 1999 and 2004, but decreased after 2004. The centroid of China’s wood-processing is shifting from the northeastern region toward the eastern coastal areas. The industry is more concentrated in the north–south direction and slightly dispersed in the east–west direction. Most sub-sectors of China’s wood-processing industry operate at the primary agglomeration level, indicating significant potential for improvement and further development. The empirical results unveil the substantial positive influence of spatial agglomeration on exports within China’s wood-processing industry, indicating the prospects for enhancing exports through the deliberate exploitation of agglomeration effects. The results advocate the view that spatial agglomeration acts as an essential accelerator for export growth and firms’ international competitiveness. Therefore, spatial agglomeration can alleviate the export constraints of China’s wood-processing industry. The results also show that exports are hampered by increased enterprise productivity. The ‘productivity paradox’ phenomenon has also surfaced in low-tech industries, like the wood-processing industry, as a result of issues with transaction costs, the development path, and policy orientation. Therefore, we should strategically leverage the spatial agglomeration effect, especially in the western region, and guide the moderate competition of enterprises to enhance the competitiveness of low-tech enterprises. China’s wood-processing industry can provide advanced experience and lessons for other countries regarding industrial cluster allocation and sustainable development models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Utilization of Forest Products for Sustainable Growth)

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16 pages, 7823 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biological Activities in Sapwood and Heartwood Extractives from Paulownia tomentosa

by Hanna Park, Byeongho Kim, Kyoung-Chan Park, Yesun Kim, Taehee Kim, Min-Seok Kim, Sun-Eun Choi and Se-Yeong Park

Forests 2023, 14(11), 2171; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14112171 - 31 Oct 2023

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Abstract

Paulownia tomentosa is a representative deciduous tree in South Korea. After 10 years of growth, its wood can be used to make various products through chemical modifications, such as impregnation with a polymer, substitution with chemicals, and physical compression. However, research on the biological resistance of the sapwood and heartwood parts of P. tomentosa xylem is lacking. To ensure the complete utilisation of Paulownia wood, this study aimed to collect baseline data on the necessity of xylem extraction before chemical modification to enhance wood porosity. First, we assessed the decay and termite resistance of sapwood and heartwood blocks. Furthermore, we evaluated the anti-microbial effect of sapwood and heartwood extracts after solvent fractionation. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the active substances of the fractions with anti-microbial activity were also conducted. The hexane and chloroform solvent fractions of sapwood and heartwood extracts showed fungal resistance against Trametes versicolor and Fomiptosis palustis. Paulownin and sesamin were the main compounds showing anti-microbial activity, and their content in the extracts varied, depending on the wood part. These results provide valuable data for advancing research on porous wood materials and the utilisation of xylem-derived active compounds from Paulownia wood. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Utilization of Forest Products for Sustainable Growth)

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Review

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14 pages, 1770 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Towards a Carbon Accounting Framework for Assessing the Benefits of Biogenic Wood Carbon to Net Zero Carbon Targets

by Oludunsin Arodudu, Obste Therasme, Timothy Volk, Robert Malmsheimer, Paul Crovella, René Germain, Danielle Kloster and Deepak Kumar

Forests 2023, 14(10), 1959; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101959 - 27 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1017

Abstract

Carbon stored in harvested wood products (HWPs) can play an important role in climate change mitigation and needs to be accounted for accurately and consistently. This study reviewed the features of previous HWP carbon accounting frameworks and discussed potential improvements for a more complete assessment of all HWP contributions to net zero carbon targets at subnational levels. The basic features include the components, the methods, the approaches, and the modeling principles. A key recommendation is to expand previous HWP C accounting framework components to include other climate change mitigation benefits such as local or regional substitution effects (i.e., material replacement, fossil fuel displacement effects, energy efficiency gains, recycling effects, and cascading use impacts) of all produced and consumed HWPs. Another area for improvement is the need for subnational unit-specific activity data and conversion factors. Adopting variants of the domestic origin-stock change approach will also help account for relevant production and consumption activities within the subnational unit. These recommendations will enhance the accuracy and/or precision of HWP accounting frameworks at the subnational level and help capture all potential benefits of HWPs as a carbon sink for climate change mitigation and a valuable contributor to subnational net zero carbon targets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Utilization of Forest Products for Sustainable Growth)

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