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This newly released book “Restoring Forests and Trees for Sustainable Development” sheds light on socioeconomic aspects of restoration. Source: Timberbiz For many decades, restoration science concentrated much of its efforts on ecological and technical aspects, while socioeconomic factors were devoted less attention. This imbalance is shifting as a growing body of literature recognises the importance of social, institutional, economic, cultural and political factors that influence restoration goals and outcomes. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, the new book “Restoring Forests and Trees for Sustainable Development: Policies, Practices, Impacts, and Ways Forward” examines forest restoration in light of its different understandings, modalities and political contexts, discussing how those contribute to shaping restoration goals, policies, approaches and related outcomes. Its chapters interweave discussions on restoration’s contributions to different ecosystem services with explorations of issues of justice in restoration governance, technological advances, financial aspects and more. The book is published by Oxford University Press and edited by Pia Katila, Carol J Pierce Colfer, Wil de Jong, Glenn Galloway, Pablo Pacheco and Georg Winkel. It is freely accessible and can be viewed at the link below. https://academic.oup.com/book/58200/chapter/481598109?login=false  

UPM Biomedicals has launched FibGel, a natural injectable hydrogel for permanent implantable medical devices. FibGel is a nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel made from birch wood cellulose and water only, offering a safe, sustainable and biocompatible alternative for medical device developers. Source: Timberbiz Designed and manufactured under ISO 13485 standards in Finland and designed for medical applications, FibGel is poised to transform the fields of soft tissue repair, orthopaedics, regenerative medicine and more. Unlike synthetic and animal-derived hydrogels, FibGel is a natural hydrogel manufactured from renewable and responsibly sourced Finnish birch wood offering a safe, sustainable, animal-free solution. As a stable, non-degradable material, FibGel is designed for long-lasting use in the human body without causing adverse immune reactions or the formation of fibrotic capsules common to animal-derived and plastic-based alternatives. FibGel is customizable owing to its tunable properties that allow adjustable stiffness and the incorporation of additional components. This flexibility enables tailored solutions for varying clinical needs and holds promise in a wide range of medical applications, including soft tissue repair, orthopaedic treatments, aesthetics, drug delivery, and cell transplantation. With FibGel’s biological safety evaluations in accordance with ISO 10993, it is an ideal component for companies developing medical devices for use in various soft tissue repair and orthopaedic applications. Our first partners are planning their initial clinical investigations based on FibGel technology in 2025. UPM has extensive expertise in developing sustainable, animal-free hydrogels and rigorous testing has demonstrated FibGel’s biocompatibility. Based on the preclinical studies, its stability supports permanent implant and one-time injection applications, critical for patient convenience and saving health care providers’ time. FibGel is highly tunable, easy to use and remains injectable even at high stiffness thanks to its shear thinning properties. “We are thrilled to be the first company to develop plant-based nanocellulose for use in medical devices. It enables minimally invasive procedures, which compared to surgery means rapid patient recovery,” said Johana Kuncová-Kallio, Director of UPM Biomedicals. “In 2020 we launched our own FibDex topical medical device (MDD/MDR, class IIb) for advanced wound care, which has been used to successfully treat several hundreds of patients. Now, with the launch of FibGel, we can provide the same safe, sustainable, animal-free material in an injectable hydrogel form to medical device companies. Based on our pre-clinical evidence for FibGel, our initial partners have been able to speed up their device development and are now planning to start the clinical phase in 2025. “We aim to partner with more companies interested in developing new solutions in the areas of soft tissue repair, joint and disk repair, wound care, drug delivery and cell therapy based on FibGel technology.” FibGel also benefits from robust temperature stability, enabling it to be handled and stored at room temperature for ease of use and quick preparation. It’s long 18-month minimum shelf life delivers reliable performance without special storage conditions, reducing logistical challenges.

SCA’s new electric timber truck with a crane is finally rolling in the Östavall area in Sweden. The truck, which is a collaborative project between SCA and Scania, is the first in the world to collect timber in the forest for further transport to a timber terminal. Source: Timberbiz Photo: Olle Melkerhed The yellow timber truck moves almost silently into the timber terminal in Östavall. Behind the wheel sits Rolf Lövgren of Lövgrens Åkeri & Entreprenad. He owns the new timber truck with support from SCA and has driven it for a few days. “It is very quiet and comfortable to drive, and I don’t get as mentally tired as I can after a full day with background noise from the engine. It is very positive,” Mr Lövgren said. “It takes a while to get to know the truck and learn how to drive it in the best way to conserve the battery. You want to charge more than you consume. If I have 50% battery left at the end of the day, I have stood still and charged unnecessarily. It will be exciting to see how it performs during the winter.” The new electric timber truck marks another important milestone for SCA and the work to electrify heavy timber transports. The truck is expected to result in 170 tons lower carbon dioxide emissions per year compared with a regular timber truck. “This is an important project for us to continue contributing to a more sustainable society,” said Ulf Larsson, CEO of SCA. “By managing the forest and making renewable products that can replace those with a high carbon footprint, SCA creates about 13 million tons of positive climate benefits each year. That figure can become even better as we transition the heavy road transports in our value chain.” Anton Ahlinder, Business Developer at SCA Skog said that it was exciting that it’s finally in place. “From the first conversations with Scania, it took just over two years for this electric timber truck with a crane to become a reality. Our first electric timber truck only runs between the terminal and Obbola paper mill, but now our development work continues as we electrify the transports from the forest to the terminal,” he said. The new electric timber truck is part of the forest industry’s innovation project TREE, which aims for half of the new trucks in the forest industry to be electric by 2030. SCA is one of several participants. “Östavall is one of the places where there should be electric timber trucks. We are aiming for a total of 12 trucks, six like this one that SCA has now put into operation and six chip trucks,” said Gunnar Svensson from Skogforsk and coordinator for the TREE project. SCA is responsible for a significant part of the financing of the electric timber truck, but the vehicle is owned by Lövgrens Åkeri & Entreprenad. “To make the transition successful, we need to have haulage companies with us, and therefore it is good that this vehicle is owned by a local company. Then, we will need price pressure on the vehicles, more charging infrastructure, a better power grid, and that working time regulations offer flexibility related to charging. Then the heavy traffic will gradually move towards more electrification,” says Ulf Larsson SCA CEO.

Private Forests Tasmania (PFT) held a strategic planning session last week in Launceston. More than 50 stakeholders attended the morning to discuss the opportunities and challenges within private forestry and the role that PFT may play in creating change. Source: Timberbiz Attendees delved into seven key themes, all of which had previously presented during one-to-one conversations with stakeholders throughout the past 12 months. The themes were: Access to information and data Sustainable native forests Carbon and natural capital Markets and future resource Certification Workforce development, education and research Policy and regulations PFT has created an opportunity to collate further feedback for those who could not attend the session and those who did attend and would like to present their ideas. The method to do this is via a form which is available here. This form will close November 8, 2024.

Gulf Savannah NRM, in partnership with the North Queensland Regional Forestry Hub, will present findings from their collaborative silvopastoral project at a workshop and field day to be held on 25 November (venue to be confirmed). Source: Timberbiz The event aims to showcase practical methods landholders can use to manage forests and integrate silvopastoral systems on their properties. By incorporating trees into farming systems, silvopastoral practices can help boost drought resilience through income diversification, as well as providing benefits like windbreaks, fodder, shade, and improved soil health. The event welcomes regional forestry stakeholders and landholders to share experiences and explore options and includes a field visit to a local property for hands-on learning. For more information or to register, please contact Hub Manager, Hulton King, via h.king@nqfh.com.au

Scion’s Annual Report for 2024 has been presented to New Zealand’s Parliament. As New Zealand’s leading institute in forestry, industrial biotechnology and advanced manufacturing Scion and its partners in government and industry to drive innovation and growth to create economic value and contribute to beneficial environmental and social outcomes for New Zealand. Source: Timberbiz This annual report includes stories that highlight great examples of how Scion is working across its three impact areas to create technologically advanced and sustainable solutions that are driving growth in the forestry and biobased sectors, and achieving the objectives set out in its Statement of Corporate Intent. Scion finished the year delivering NZ$68 million in revenue and faced a number of one-off costs over the year, including holiday pay remediation and redundancy provisions that have resulted in a net loss for the year of NZ$2.9 million, slightly ahead of the budgeted loss of NZ$3 million. That budgeted loss was partly a result of it becoming apparent during the year that projected revenue, including from reallocation of the Climate Emergency Response Fund, would not be realised during the year. Achieving this result in the challenging economic environment while delivering science excellence is testament to the efforts of its board, management and staff. A copy of the annual report is available here.

Continued research from the FWPA-supported National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life (NCTDDL) is seeking to address the fire risks associated with copper-based timber treatments and protect the ongoing use of timber for outdoor use in Australia. Source: Timberbiz This research supports FWPA’s focus on driving industry advancement through strategic research and initiatives to drive growth and productivity for members and the forest and wood products industry. Copper-based treatments are widely used across the country to increase the durability of timber products, particularly in external settings. Treatments such as copper chrome arsenate (CCA) are a cost-effective way to protect wood from rot, insects and fungi, prolonging its life outdoors. CCA-treated timber is the most common and is recognisable to many by its green tint. While its use is restricted in some settings including playgrounds and picnic tables (due to concerns around its arsenic content), it is commonplace in applications such as fencing, landscaping and utility poles. However, research has shown copper-based treatments can increase the risk of smouldering – a form of slow, sustained and flameless burning which can continue undetected after a fire has ended. This means a timber structure can appear intact following a fire but continue to smoulder and eventually fail over time. In the case of an electrical post for example, this can cause critical impacts including power outages, particularly in remote areas where arranging repairs for a single pole can be costly and time-consuming. NCTDDL Director, Professor Tripti Singh explained these factors pose a significant risk to the ongoing use of timber in these environments, as people look for alternatives. “Combatting smouldering risk is critical to protecting timber as a material of choice for outdoor use,” said Dr Singh. “Timber boasts exceptional sustainability credentials. To support and grow its ongoing use in outdoor applications across Australia, it’s important to strengthen fire safety measures while maintaining the durability that makes it such a reliable material.” Since 2021, PhD student Wenxuan Wu has conducted research to understand the relationship between copper and wood with regards to their burning behaviour. Mr Wu studied CCA as well as its most common alternatives, alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) and copper azole (CA). He examined how the treatments affect burning and analysed differences in burning behaviour from a chemical perspective. The study initially used a ‘movable radiant panel system’ to simulate a passing bushfire, measuring the effects on treated and untreated wood samples. “After observing the smouldering behaviour of various copper-based preservatives, we looked at how fast smouldering would destroy the infrastructure and how this was affected by other factors such as wood density, preservative concentration and fire intensity,” Mr Wu explained. “Often flames are seen as the main markers of fire, but the metals in these preservatives act as catalysts to promote smouldering combustion. Once smouldering starts, it typically self-sustains and continues until no infrastructure is left.” The study found that lower timber density and higher concentrations of preservatives also increase the severity of smouldering. Because all three elements in CCA are catalysts for smouldering, it was found to be the highest risk in terms of time to burn, as the smouldering reaction can occur even at lower temperatures and in lower concentration. Mr Wu’s project is set to be completed in 2024. In 2023, Zeinab Darabi commenced a new research project building on Mr Wu’s findings and seeking a practical solution. In particular, she is investigating potential additive products that could be incorporated into copper-based treatments to counteract their burning behaviour. Beginning with a review of existing literature to understand which chemical products may offer this functionality, Ms Darabi tested different chemicals to determine the best candidate for smouldering inhibition. She has now completed preliminary trials of possible additives. There are two key aspects of fire retardancy: flame and smouldering. While there are chemicals that can impact one or both, Ms Darabi explained that eliminating smouldering behaviour is the main goal of her study. Copper-based preservatives do not change flame behaviour, but they do increase smouldering. This means that adding a smouldering inhibitor to treated timber will allow it to burn and quench as if it were untreated. Ms Darabi explained that ensuring the additive does not leach is also an important focus, as most commercial smouldering inhibitors are leachable. “Exposure to high humidity or running water can cause the chemicals to leach from wood products, eliminating their effects from the timber,” she said. “Introducing an oil-based additive can prevent leaching, but this creates its own challenge as the most common copper preservatives are water-based. This means that the preservatives and the non-leachable chemicals that can prevent smouldering do not naturally want to mix – they are literally oil and water. We will need to develop a stable emulsion of the two components to create a single product that can provide durability and reduce smouldering.” If successful, this emulsion would be the first formulation of its kind in the industry. NCTDDL Research Fellow, Dr Luis Yerman is the main supervisor of both research projects. He explained further work will be required to make a new preservative commercially viable. “Treatments like CCA are widely used and integrated into production lines across the country,” said Dr Yerman. “We can’t introduce an entirely new step in the process and expect processors to integrate the additional infrastructure, cost and time this would require. To make this an economically feasible option, we need to find an additive that can be incorporated into copper-based treatments and applied as one product using existing processes. Ideally, treatment plants will not have to change anything other than the treatment formulation.” Dr Chris Lafferty, Head of Research, Development and Extension at FWPA, echoed this sentiment, saying the potential benefits of this research stretch beyond current applications of copper-treated timber. “The more we understand how these treatments work, the greater confidence and trust we can build in those looking to use timber in these settings,” Chris said. “In Australia’s unique climate of bushfire risk, fire safety is a key concern. […]

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has completed a timber testing trial investigating the best ways to implement technologies verifying claims of species and harvest origin of regulated timber and timber products. Source: Timberbiz Illegal logging is a global problem and is the most profitable transborder environmental crime, with wide-reaching and devastating impacts on climate, nature and people. Deputy Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy Matt Lowe said globally, it has been estimated that about 15-30% of all wood traded is a product of illegal logging and illicit wood. “Use of timber testing technologies will strengthen Australia’s ongoing efforts to address this problem by enhancing existing compliance and due diligence efforts under our illegal logging prohibition laws,” Mr Lowe said. “They offer a means of verifying if claims made about the species and harvest origin of timber are accurate. “The trial tested 146 products and 39 distinct species. A range of scientific methods were used including DNA, stable isotope, trace element, wood fibre and wood anatomy analyses. “The results showed approximately 25% of products tested had an inconsistency with declared species, origin, or both. “While not representative of the entire Australian market, the findings highlight that there is room for improvement for our regulated community to mitigate the risk of illegal logging timber entering our market. “The department will continue to review the recommendations of the trial and work across the Australian Government and with industry stakeholders to inform future implementation of timber testing technologies under reformed legislation. “This trial provides great insight into the benefits of introducing timber testing technologies to help mitigate the risk of illegally logged timber entering Australia’s market and better support the forestry sector.” The Australian Government is committed to playing its part and working with industry stakeholders and the international community to address illegal logging. That is why we passed the Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Bill in 2024. For more information visit: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/forestry/policies/illegal-logging