Hardwood Log Grading in the United States—Part III: An Assessment of the Current Status of Log Grading in the Hardwood Industry

This article documents how the hardwood industry, in the absence of a standardized, industry-wide log grading system, has gone about grading and scaling hardwood logs by surveying mills, primarily in the Appalachian region. In total, 135 surveys were completed by respondents and returned via mail, with only 110 of those surveys considered usable for further analysis, after a thorough review of the individual surveys. Survey responses were grouped around annual production level, with three defined levels; ≤2.5 million board feet (MMBF), >2.5 and ≤8.0 MMBF, and >8.0 MMBF. Responding mills used some variation of a log grading system based on the number of clear faces on the log and the small end diameter of the log. The most common log rule used by mills in this study was the Doyle log rule, with over 75 percent using Doyle for scaling logs. Nearly 90 percent of all mills sampled graded logs without rolling the log to examine all four sides/faces. Half of all the sawmills surveyed pay the same price per thousand board feet (MBF) for butt logs and uppers. When asked if they would support the development of a standard log grading system, about two-thirds of the respondents (66%) indicated they would indeed support a standardized system for Appalachian hardwoods. These findings can help guide the development of a set of log grading standards for buyers and sellers in the Appalachian region and other parts of the world where hardwood lumber is produced.

Nanofibrillated Cellulose from Appalachian Hardwoods Logging Residues as Template for Antimicrobial Copper

TEMPO nanofibrillated cellulose (TNFC) from two underutilized Appalachian hardwoods, Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), was prepared to determine its feasibility to be used as template for antimicrobial metallic copper particles. In addition, a comparison of the TNFC from the two species in terms of their morphological, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties was also performed. The woody biomass was provided in the form of logging residue from Preston County, West Virginia. A traditional kraft process was used to produce the pulp followed by a five-stage bleaching. Bleached pulps were then subjected to a TEMPO oxidation process using the TEMPO/NaBr/NaClO system to facilitate the final mechanical fibrillation process and surface incorporation of metallic copper. The final TNFC diameters for red oak and yellow poplar presented similar dimensions, 3.8±0.74 nm and 3.6±0.85 nm, respectively. The TNFC films fabricated from both species exhibited no statistical differences in both Young’s modulus and the final strength properties. Likely, after the TEMPO oxidation process both species exhibited similar carboxyl group content, of approximately 0.8 mmol/g, and both species demonstrated excellent capability to incorporate antimicrobial copper on their surfaces.

Crown Class Dynamics of Oaks, Yellow-Poplar, and Red Maple after Commercial Thinning in Appalachian Hardwoods: 20-Year Results

Silvicultural strategies are often planned to favor the growth and survival of desired species until they reach a competitive position in the upper canopy. Once desired species reach the upper canopy, they can persist and provide a variety of benefits for decades. Later, they can serveas a source of natural regeneration for sustaining species composition. Although information is available for promoting desired advance seedlings in the understory of mature stands and culturing desired saplings in the upper canopy of young stands, additional information is needed on promoting desired species at mid-rotation, when the stand first reaches commercial size classes. Crown class transition rates for a total of 2,668 white and chestnut oaks, northern red oak, scarlet and black oaks, yellow-poplar, red maple, blackgum, and black birch were observed for 20 years in a 53-year-old central Appalachian mixed-hardwood stand. Treatments included three residual stand densities after commercial thinning and an unthinned control. In general, the thinning treatments reduced mortality, increased crown class retention rates of codominant trees, and increased the ascension rates of trees in the intermediate crown class. After thinning, codominant trees exhibited the crown class stability of dominant trees, and intermediate trees exhibited greater survival and ascension to the upper canopy compared with unthinned controls. Very few suppressed trees improved canopyposition in thinning treatments; however, thinning did tend to reduce mortality of these trees. Crown class transition rates are presented to help forest managers understand how commercial thinning treatments can affect the composition of the upper canopy in the latter stages of stand development.