Forest Products Industry

Remsoft has announced the launch of new Carbon Management capabilities that extend its suite of intelligent forestry planning solutions powered by the company’s flagship Woodstock Optimization Studio. Source: Timberbiz These advanced capabilities seamlessly integrate with Remsoft’s Strategic Optimization solution, responding to the growing demand within the forest industry for intelligent technology that enhances global sustainability performance. The new Carbon Management solution improves how forestry companies manage carbon offsets, combining advanced algorithms and data-based calculations to produce faster, more accurate carbon estimations for forest carbon projects. Approved by the American Carbon Registry and adhering to leading carbon crediting standards, Remsoft’s Woodstock modeling technology ensures that clients can confidently meet their compliance requirements. Current carbon management practices are often manual, labor-intensive, and error-prone, leading to conservative estimations that undervalue the true potential of forest assets and revenue. This cautious approach is primarily driven by the risk of regulatory penalties and the potential need to repay miscalculated carbon credits. Remsoft’s solution streamlines and accelerates the carbon modeling process, enabling forest managers to produce carbon models with unprecedented accuracy. This efficiency reduces what used to take months into just days, thereby maximizing revenue, accelerating project timelines, and easing regulatory compliance—all from one secure platform. “For those managing forests, our latest offering provides a way to simplify carbon modeling and more effectively balance sustainability, compliance, and profit,” said Doug Jones, Remsoft President. “Landowners, TIMOs, and forest managers can more precisely navigate the dual demands of environmental responsibility and financial performance to surpass their sustainability goals and unlock significant revenue opportunities.” Remsoft’s Carbon Management solution marks a significant advancement in improving the accuracy and efficiency of forest carbon management. Integrating these capabilities within Remsoft’s industry-standard Strategic Optimization solution empowers the industry’s continuing shift towards holistic forest management that effectively balances economic growth with forest health and sustainability. To learn more about Remsoft’s Carbon Management solution, visit https://remsoft.com/carbon-management/.

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and EPFL are spraying water vapour into the crowns of mature pine trees in the Pfynwald forest in the canton of Valais. The large-scale experiment is designed to reveal the impact of soil and air drought on forest trees in the context of climate change. Source: Timberbiz Something peculiar has been happening in the treetops of the Pfynwald forest in the canton of Valais since early summer: numerous high-pressure nozzles mounted on tall frames are spraying water vapour into the 12-metre-high treetops of mature Scots pines. The installation is part of the ‘VPDrought’ experiment, a world first that aims to unravel the effects of soil and air drought in a natural forest ecosystem. The water vapour increases the humidity – a sophisticated technique uses high-pressure nozzles to atomise water into tiny droplets that evaporate so quickly that neither the trees nor the ground get wet. The project, which is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the WSL, the EPFL and the SwissForestLab, aims to understand how hot and dry conditions affect the resilience of forests and which processes lead to the death of trees. The climate is getting hotter and drier, as it already is in many places in the Valais. The consequences are already being felt: in the canton of Valais and in the neighbouring inner-Alpine dry valleys (the region of Innsbruck, Lower Austria, southern Styria, Vintschgau, Aosta Valley), Scots pine trees are dying and being replaced by more drought-tolerant oaks. The WSL has been studying the processes responsible for this in the Pfynwald forest for 21 years. Every night, it waters parts of this forest in order to study the trees with and without drought stress. Climate change is now adding another worrying environmental factor to the mix: increasing ‘air thirst’. The warmer the air, the more moisture it can absorb. This means that the heated atmosphere extracts more water from plants and soil. This ‘thirst’ is called vapour pressure deficit (VPD). VPD is a key factor in how much water trees evaporate through their leaves or needles, and thus has a major influence on the water supply and cooling of the plant. With rising temperatures, it is expected that the VPD will increase exponentially. High VPD values lead to excessive evaporation, which can cause plants to suffer from drought stress. In addition to the direct effects on plant physiology, a high VPD accelerates evaporation from soils, creating a vicious cycle of soil drying, land surface warming and drought stress for plants. What is unusual about VPDrought is that this experiment is investigating the influence of air and soil drought in a fully grown natural forest. To this end, the approximately 130-year-old forest pines are given different amounts of soil water: either the natural rainfall of approx. 600 mm/year, twice that amount (1200 mm/year) through irrigation, or only half the natural rainfall, i.e. approx. 300 mm/year, under a rain canopy. Secondly, high-pressure nozzles are used to disperse water vapour in the crowns of some of the trees during the day. The water vapour reduces the VPD – the ‘thirst’ of the air – by around 20 to 30 per cent. The research will be conducted from the plant cell to the tree and ecosystem level. The experiment started in 2024 and will run until 2028, with results expected in the next few years. An increasing VPD – i.e. air that is becoming increasingly ‘thirsty’ – is a challenge for both agriculture and forests. The continuous and selective measurements of over 100 parameters at the tree and ecosystem level should provide insights into how air and soil drought affects metabolic processes and the resilience of forests to drought. The findings contribute to improved climate-vegetation models and will be incorporated into future forestry strategies and the selection of future tree species.  

Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA) has announced the opening of a public consultation period for two draft standards to shape the future of recycled timber use in Australia. Source: Timberbiz The proposed standards, FWPA Standard G01 for Recycled Structural Timber and FWPA Standard G02 for Recycled Decorative Timber, are designed to establish visual grading criteria for recycled hardwood timber in structural and decorative applications. In response to feedback from its members, FWPA has committed to a more active role in the development and revision of industry standards. The organisation is now coordinating and facilitating the creation of these standards, highlighting the potential benefits of industry-developed and owned guidelines. These benefits include increased efficiency, better alignment with industry needs, and the ability to address specific member concerns. FWPA also recognises the broader advantages of maintaining these standards as intellectual property, ensuring they are effectively managed and accessible. This initiative is further supported by FWPA’s WoodSolutions program, which continues to provide valuable resources and education to the timber industry. FWPA has appointed familiar industry specialist Jacqui Bates, Director of Dynamic Impact Group, as Project Manager to lead the development of these inaugural FWPA standards. “This landmark project will set new benchmarks for the industry and serve as a valuable resource for all stakeholders,” said Jacqui. “I am eager to contribute to their successful publication later this year.” In line with FWPA’s Strategic Plan 2023-2028, a Standards Development Program has been established with the aim to develop enhanced building standards and codes that support the use of wood products.  The program has commenced with formal procedures for comment and publication of standards as well as the formation of an industry Standards Reference Panel (SRP) which will provide guidance, support, and advice to FWPA from a stakeholder perspective when developing industry standards. FWPA aims to publish a minimum of two industry-owned standards per year through this program. The inaugural members of the SRP: Prof. Keith Crews (Chair: Advanced Timber Hub, University of Queensland – Academia) Andrew Dunn (TDA-NSW – Industry Associations) Craig Kay (Tilling Timber – Importers) Gavin Matthew (EWPAA – Panels) Tom Rickerby (Wesbeam – LVL, I-joists) Peter Robson (Pentarch – Hardwood) Tim Rossiter (MiTek – Frame & Truss, product users) Dave Belfield (Wespine – Softwood, treated products) Public consultation is open for the two draft FWPA Standards aimed at enhancing the safety and quality of recycled timber products. The proposed standards — FWPA Standard G01 for Recycled Structural Timber and FWPA Standard G02 for Recycled Decorative Timber — seek to establish clear and consistent guidelines for the industry, promoting the use of recycled timber and supporting environmental sustainability through material reuse. These standards are designed to offer a unified framework for grading recycled timber, which is expected to reduce variability in product quality and improve communication between suppliers and purchasers. By providing definitive guidelines, the standards aim to increase confidence among consumers and industry stakeholders, ultimately encouraging the broader adoption of recycled timber. Although these guidelines have served as interim measures, this marks the first time they will undergo a formal review and publication process. The six-week public comment period will run from September 3 to October 15, 2024, inviting feedback from industry professionals and the public. This initiative reflects FWPA’s commitment to industry ownership and intellectual property, marking a significant milestone in the organisation’s efforts to support its members. By developing and maintaining its own standards, FWPA aims to reduce costs for its members, eliminating the need to purchase standards from external organisations. “We are advancing these draft documents through our newly established procedures and collaborating with our reference panel to publish these standards for industry ownership,” Boris Iskra, Codes and Standards Manager at FWPA said. “Our goal is to have future industry standards incorporated into the Building Code of Australia, where appropriate, and to influence how timber can be utilised in the built environment.” While FWPA’s new standards will complement existing Australian Standards, the organisation remains committed to contributing to the broader standards landscape. FWPA will continue to participate in the development of Australian Standards and engage with timber and built environment committees. Through innovation, research, and marketing, FWPA strives to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the Australian forest and wood products industry. “Our organisation is committed to addressing industry needs concerning the standards development process and is looking forward to this first round of consultation to support our industry effectively,” said FWPA CEO, Andrew Leighton. The public comment period for these draft standards is now open until Tuesday 15 October, inviting stakeholders to contribute to the finalisation of these important guidelines.

Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan has been accused of failing to honour a commitment to meet directly with members of the East Gippsland timber industry. Source: Timberbiz And according to the Member for Gippsland East Tim Bull, this simply shows the government’s complete disdain for the sector. Mr Bull said that in answering a question in October 2023, Ms Allan made a promise in State Parliament that she clearly had no intention of keeping – she agreed to meet with timber workers. “I further pressed the Premier to nominate a date when she (and not a delegate), would meet with shafted harvest and haulage contractors,” Mr Bull said. “Ten months later, and eight months after the industry was callously closed by the Allan Labor Government, the Premier made no effort to fulfill this promise. “These are people who have forcibly lost their jobs and even now negotiations are not finalised in relation to packages,” he said. “At the very least they deserved the time to discuss their compensation with those responsible for putting them out of work, impacting country communities, families and livelihoods. “The Premier has broken her commitment to timber industry workers, and it was clearly a promise she never intended to keep,” said Mr Bull.

Tasmania has been experiencing damaging gale force winds resulting in many fallen trees including damage to privately-owned plantations and native forests. Source: Timberbiz Known in forestry terms as windthrow, trees are uprooted, broken, snapped and overthrown by fierce winds and storms. Unfortunately, these events are the responsibility of mother nature and can occur in any forested area throughout the world including urban areas and involves extensive clean ups, loss and destruction. In response to this recent event, Private Forests Tasmania has compiled information for affected landowners and are available to discuss your personal situation further should you require specific advice. It is important to note the immediate safety evaluation of affected trees within your property, access roads, homes, outbuildings and to livestock. Should you notice unstable trees or down powerlines, please contact the SES immediately on 132 500 or consult a private Tree Arborist to assist with removal of storm affected trees threatening homes and outbuildings. If your matter is less urgent, you may require the services of a consulting forester who can provide critical technical assistance in all phases of your forest management. Affected areas should be identified and monitored with appropriate remedial treatment techniques being identified and implemented where necessary. For example: Edge stabilisation (see below); Re-evaluate the wind risk of the remaining trees and decide to: clearfall, salvage windthrow or leave the windthrow; or if windthrow occurs along a boundary, do not salvage and create a similar new boundary. Retain windthrow as a windfirm buffer or create a new windfirm Edge Stabilisation Edge feathering will reduce wind-loading on boundary trees. Trees in the edge buffer should be removed in the following order of preference: Unsound trees with a large crown, including diseased, deformed, forked, scarred, root rot infested etc. Trees with asymmetric or stilt roots. Trees on unstable substrates, e.g. rocky knolls, large boulders, poorly drained depressions, etc. Tall non-veteran trees, especially with above features or large crowns. Residual trees should be left in the following order of preference: Sound, well-rooted veterans. Sound trees (strong roots and good taper) with relatively small, open crowns. Sound hung-up trees, where safety is not comprised. Stem removal should not exceed 15-20% of the trees in a strip 20-30m from the boundary (not recommended at all in single-story, dense stands). Topping and/or pruning of vulnerable trees may be necessary along boundaries to protect critical areas e.g. reserves, wildlife habitat, etc. 20-30% crown reduction appears to reduce wind risk. Combination of edge-feathering, topping and pruning should be effective in high-risk areas. Additional information is available on our website including Forest and wind risk in Tasmania – guidelines book and the Wind Risk Calculator tool which is available under our TOOLS tab. Private Forests Tasmania’s Directory of Services also has information on forestry professionals. Please phone us on 1300 661 009 for any additional information.

As Australia enters the summer bushfire season, Pano AI, a pioneer in early bushfire detection technology, has announced a major enhancement to its platform with the introduction of advanced weather forecasting data integration. Source: Timberbiz Launched yesterday in Sydney at the AFAC 24 Conference, Australia’s largest emergency management conference and exhibition, the new Weather Map Layers feature enables users to seamlessly track forecasted weather conditions in conjunction with real time fire threats, all in one platform. Arvind Satyam, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Pano AI, underscored the importance of having multiple data sources to enable faster and more informed response capabilities. “By providing visibility into temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind gusts and wind direction, Pano AI’s Weather Map Layers offers greater situational awareness, significantly improves decision-making during critical moments and allows for more tactical and appropriately scaled responses to fire risks.” Trained on hundreds of millions of images of landscapes across a variety of environments, Pano AI utilises ultra-high resolution cameras, satellites and artificial intelligence to help fire responders to swiftly identify and extinguish new ignitions before they become a threat. Last summer 33 fire events were averted in the Green Triangle due to Australia’s largest network of smoke detection cameras with plans progressing to expand the infrastructure to cover more blackspot areas for future seasons. The Green Triangle Fire Alliance’s (GTFA) network of 14 cameras, which provide a 360-degree scan of the landscape using AI technology, delivered 24-hour seven day a week observation across 1.3 million hectares of landscape, covering 10 local government areas. Operated by AI specialists Pano AI Pty Ltd, the cameras acted as the first point of detection before the human eye on several occasions and positively identified 24 planned fuel reduction burns for a total of 57 detections for the season. This was in addition to the detection of thousands of private permit burns late in the season. Head of Australia GTM Pano AI, Andrew Prolov, highlighted how weather information is an essential component of understanding bushfire risk. “We are committed to providing the most effective early detection technology to help identify bushfire risks and to prevent fires from escalating out of control,” Mr Prolov said. “The first few minutes are vital in preventing a bushfire from escalating out of control. While we can’t prevent fires from starting, our technology now offers the added capability to overlay important weather data to better understand the conditions in the regions that we are monitoring and to be aware of the changing weather landscape once a fire has started.” Key features of Pano AI’s Weather Map Layers integration: • Comprehensive Weather Data: Users can overlay essential weather data onto the Pano AI interactive map, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind gusts, and a dynamic wind particle animation representing wind speed and direction. • Hourly Updates: At the top of each hour, Weather Map Layers will display the forecast for the current hour with a data resolution of 28km. This ensures users have the most current information when responding to fire threats. • Enhanced Fire Management: Responders can tailor their responses to fire risks more effectively by using weather forecasting data to predict how a fire might behave based on weather conditions, enabling more informed and strategic decision-making. Pano AI is deployed across five states of Australia, and now has a presence in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania with 28 separate stations covering over 2 million hectares including forestry, farmland and renewable energy zones.

Forestry Australia is disappointed the Queensland Government is jumping the gun in declaring a Greater Glider Forest Park. Source: Timberbiz Forestry Australia’s Acting President Dr Bill Jackson said while Forestry Australia supports conserving threatened species and habitats, the new commitment has been made without consultation, sound evidence or the application of good governance principles. The comments come in the wake of Environment Minister Leanne Linard announcing 54,000 hectares of greater glider habitat in South East Queensland state forest will be transitioned to a new natural capital tenure. “The Queensland Sustainable Timber Industry Framework was established two months ago to provide government advice and it is due to run until the middle of 2025,” Dr Jackson said. “The Framework’s first meeting was only held two weeks ago yet, the Miles Government has jumped the gun and made this announcement without even taking the time to get appropriate advice. “Good policy needs to be based on sound evidence and assessments and the proposal of the Queensland Government fails on all of this. “The assumption that harvesting timber from native forests is necessarily harmful to biodiversity is not correct and there is indeed strong evidence that forests need to be managed actively. “Well managed forests generate a wide range of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, water, recreational opportunities and fibre, that generate considerable benefits for people while also conserving biodiversity. “It is time to move away from the binary approach of commercial forests vs protected areas and consider a more nuanced approach that considers active and adaptive management along a continuum of sustainable management interventions. “A sustainable future without the use of locally sourced timber, evidence-based biodiversity conservation and effective climate change mechanisms is a nonsense,” Dr Jackson said.

Queensland’s Premier Steven Miles has been accused of pulling an election stunt to appease environmental activists with scant regard for its own timber policy, environmentally sound land management and the many regional communities and thousands of people dependent on the timber industry. Source: Timberbiz Environment Minister Leanne Linard announced on Saturday that 54,000 hectares of greater glider habitat in South East Queensland state forest will be transitioned to a new natural capital tenure. With it, the State will establish a Greater Glider Forest Park. Of the 54,000 hectares, 7500 hectares are set to be placed into Natural Capital Reserve as a potential strategic advance offset for the critical Borumba Pumped Hydro project. Queensland goes to the polls on October 26 with most polls pointing to Labor losing power after nine years in Government. Timber Queensland Hardwood Division Chair Curly Tatnell said the announcement to form a Glider Park in South-East Queensland with predetermined areas of mapped forest made a mockery of the consultative framework the Premier established less than two months ago. “The first meeting of the advisory group under the Government’s new timber policy only took place on 15 August. This group is tasked with providing advice on the scope and options for timber supply and protected areas to be worked through to the middle of 2025,” said Mr Tatnell. “From 2025 the hardwood industry will already face a 40% reduction in state timber supply in the region due to a unilateral decision by the Government in 2019 to cease timber harvesting in the South-East Queensland Regional Plan area,” he said. “Now we have the Government railroading further forest areas to be taken out of production with no consultation with the group or testing of the scientific validity of mapped areas or other alternatives for glider protection. There is also no information on timber supply impacts. This is disingenuous and an insult to the workers and families in our sustainable native forest industry,” Mr Tatnell said. Timber Queensland has written to the Premier seeking assurances for long-term contract certainty for native hardwood sawmillers from state forests which has fallen on deaf ears and put $140 million of planned investment for timber production and 6000 jobs at risk. “We do not support the locking up of forests where there is clear evidence that well managed state forests provide superior environmental and economic outcomes for the community,” Mr Tatnell said. “It also makes a mockery of the Government’s aim to maintain current timber supply levels from 2025 to 2034 as an essential building material in the middle of a housing crisis,” he said. “Grandstanding by environmental activists and a rushed announcement by a government to win over green voters should not determine forest and timber industry policy. Decisions on the longterm management of forests should be evidence-based with empirical data and genuine consultation rather than ideological opinion. “We believe State forests should already be considered part of the protected area system, just like National Forests in the United States and other multiple-use and cultural landscapes across the world, given that state forests are managed in accordance with strict environmental regulation and adopt selective harvesting practices to maintain permanent healthy forests with timber, recreation and biodiversity outcom

How some high-tech entrepreneurs are trying to use new forms of technology to solve the problem of mega-wildfires in the age of climate change.