Forest Products Industry

There is a Tigercat telematics firmware upgrade now available for added functionality, improved user interface, and to take advantage of the latest advanced engine diagnostics capabilities. Source: Timberbiz The update offers enhanced features for a more comprehensive telematics experience. For instance, a new display has been added to the information tab that displays information reported from TPMS, the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System. This update is available for all wheeled machines. Tigercat has developed more advanced and comprehensive tools for troubleshooting. The LogOn interface provides easy-to-understand steps to diagnose issues, directly referencing the appropriate section of the service manual. Several diagnostic tests can be initiated directly from LogOn to further diagnose the underlying reason for the fault code. Compression, runup, and high-pressure rail engine diagnostic tests have been added to this important new update plus a more intuitive and user-friendly interface for easier navigation. For example, colour coding has been added to the Engine Diagnostics reporting screen to make it easier to comprehend the status of the test. This applies to all the tests available in Engine Diagnostics. The upgrade also improves system stability and performance with resolved issues.  

Rising CO2 levels will spur the growth of forests, which store carbon, but an experiment suggests this effect could be restricted by the availability of phosphorus in the soil. Soil microbes can outcompete plants for vital nutrients, which could limit the amount of carbon dioxide forests are able to remove from the atmosphere. Source: New Scientist Higher levels of CO2 generally increase plant growth by stimulating photosynthesis, but this CO2 fertilisation effect boosts growth only up to a point. Eventually, growth is limited by available nutrients in the soil. In between a third and half of all ecosystems, the limiting nutrient is phosphorus, says Kristine Crous at Western Sydney University in Australia. However, researchers remain uncertain about where those phosphorus limits are. One key unknown is how the amount of available phosphorus might change as plants and soil microorganisms respond to rising levels of CO2. Ms Crous and her colleagues collected six years of data on changing phosphorus levels in a mature forest in New South Wales, Australia, as part of a long-standing experiment called the Eucalyptus Free Air CO2 Enrichment. Plots there are exposed to artificially increased levels of CO2 using long pipes hanging around the trees. The team found that the amount of available phosphorus didn’t increase with added CO2, despite the plants releasing more carbon into the soil through their roots. Some had thought this would spur soil microbes to recycle more phosphorus from dead and decaying matter, says Peter Reich at the University of Michigan, a member of the team. The researchers attribute this to the microbes outcompeting the plants for any available phosphorus: the microbes contained more than triple the amount of phosphorus held within the plants. If this microbe-driven phosphorus limit is widespread, forests might respond less than expected to CO2 fertilisation, says Crous. “Most models do not take the effects of low phosphorus into account and therefore overestimate ecosystem productivity.” Nutrients may need to be added to some ecosystems to allow them to reach their full carbon storage potential, she says. However, it is an open question how much these results apply to forests elsewhere, says César Terrer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And nutrients are just part of the picture. Increased drought, heat and fires associated with climate change are changing carbon storage in forests more than their direct response to CO2, says Mr Terrer.  

Stora Enso has partnered with Altris, a Swedish developer of sodium-ion batteries. The two companies aim to further advance the development and commercialisation of a sustainable battery value chain in Europe. Source: Timberbiz Together, the two companies will drive the adaptation of Stora Enso’s hard carbon solution Lignode as an anode material in Altris’ sodium-ion battery cells. Lignode by Stora Enso is a sustainable hard carbon derived from lignin, a product from the manufacturing of pulp, to be used as an anode material in both lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. It serves as a more sustainable alternative to current incumbent anode solutions. In addition to its sustainability benefits, lignin makes up 20-30% of a tree, which makes it abundantly available already today. Lignin being a product from pulp manufacturing ensures a stable and consistent raw material supply for anode material manufacturing. Lignode is developed in Stora Enso’s pilot plant in Kotka, Finland. Stora Enso is currently upgrading the plant from a technical point of view. Today, the significant majority of battery materials are sourced from outside Europe. The partnership between Stora Enso and Altris aims to support the establishment of a European battery value chain, fostering the continent’s sustainable electrification. Stora Enso’s European-based operations offer a localised solution that minimises environmental impact and promotes energy independence. “Bio-based materials are key to improving the sustainability of battery cells. With Lignode® having the potential to become the most sustainable anode material in the world, this partnership with Altris aligns perfectly with our common commitment to support the ambition on more sustainable electrification,” said Juuso Konttinen, Senior Vice President & Head of Biomaterials Growth at Stora Enso.

TracPlus, a global leader in aerial firefighting software solutions, has launched TracPlus Beacon, an innovative mobile application that transforms smartphones into advanced tracking devices. Source: Timberbiz Integrated seamlessly with the TracPlus Cloud platform, this solution extends the trusted tracking, operational oversight and safety to more asset types across land, sea, and air. It is designed to meet the needs of diverse and complex environments, providing scalable, cost-effective tracking capabilities without the need for additional hardware for assets within cellular reception. As the only commercial provider delivering a complete country-wide tracking solution for the aerial firefighting market, TracPlus continues to redefine emergency management worldwide. By leveraging a team’s smartphone, leaders can now utilise these devices as sophisticated safety tools, providing real-time location updates directly within the trusted TracPlus Cloud platform. With just a tap, users can activate real-time tracking and use the phone’s GPS to send continuous location data, even caching data when out of cellular range to upload later and ensure uninterrupted tracking. Todd O’Hara, TracPlus’ Head of Product says that this new capability is a game-changer because it extends the trusted TracPlus service to a connection that teams already carry with them—their smartphones. “The future of our industry hinges on connectivity and embracing ‘cellular over satellite’ technology is a key step. The acceleration towards ubiquitous data access, even over fire fronts, is becoming more feasible and TracPlus Beacon represents our first step to capitalise on this shift,” he said. “Looking ahead, it’s not unrealistic to see an app like TracPlus Beacon to become AFF-compatible, providing critical firefighting data including images and streaming video from fires, alongside other telemetry and analytics at volumes that existing satellite infrastructures simply cannot support.” With TracPlus Beacon, the company broadens accessibility to vital safety features by providing a straightforward way for customers to engage with the valuable insights and oversight capabilities of TracPlus Cloud. This integration with TracPlus Cloud delivers a unified operational view, offering real-time visibility that is crucial for managing remote field teams or coordinating complex logistics. As a result, customers gain a consistent and accurate overview of their operations, enabling effective safety management and operational efficiency across diverse environments. TracPlus Beacon is now universally available to all organisations, regardless of their current aircraft tracking system provider. To showcase the groundbreaking advantages and ease of integration of TracPlus Beacon, TracPlus is offering one free license to any organisation that operates aircraft anywhere in the world, including those that do not yet use the TracPlus system. This initiative invites entities to experience a major advancement in tracking technology that sets a new standard in the industry. With its commitment to innovation, TracPlus continues to redefine what’s possible in operational management and safety.

A lone rātā that appears to be striding across the landscape has taken gold in New Zealand’s tree of the year competition. Source: The Guardian The New Zealand Arboricultural Association, which runs the competition to celebrate New Zealand’s trees, said the “extraordinary” northern rātā had earned the name The Walking Tree because of its resemblance to one of JRR Tolkien’s sentient tree-like Ents. The 32-metre-tall tree, which grows near Karamea, on the west coast of the South Island, captivated the hearts and imaginations of New Zealanders with its unique appearance and fascinating life story, the association said. The tree was the clear winner in the third annual competition, gaining 42% of the total votes and beating out other well-known favourites, including the country’s most photographed tree – a willow that emerges out of Lake Wānaka and has become so recognisable it has gained its own social media hashtag: #thatwanakatree. The northern rātā is one of New Zealand’s tallest flowering trees. It begins life as an epiphyte, attached to another host tree. Eventually, its roots reach the ground and it envelops the original host. The species can live for 1,000 years. It is unclear how old the Walking Tree is, but its existence was known about as far back as 1875. Karamea local Pete Curry said his family cleared the land of trees when they arrived in the region in 1875. “The land was dense bush and my great-grandfather, and his brothers cleared it for farming,” Curry told Christchurch newspaper The Press. But they left the Walking Tree standing. “They must have thought the tree was unique because they didn’t leave anything else. They slashed and burned everything in those days.” The association’s president, Richie Hill, said the Walking Tree was a prime example of some of New Zealand’s remarkable trees. “This award recognises the significant role that trees play within our communities, not only enhancing our local environments but also providing a sense of place for past, present, and future generations.” Development West Coast chief executive, Heath Milne, said the region – largely made up of conservation land – is spoilt when it comes to trees. “But one tree stands a branch above the rest – Karamea’s Walking Tree”.