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Wood, Paper & Green Building

This ‘Plant-Based’ Cabin In Austin Eliminates Heavily Processed Or Synthesized Materials

By Srishti Mitra
Yanko Design
August 28, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Texas-based Moontower Design Build recently created a “plant-based” cabin in Austin equipped with clever cross-laminated timber structural elements and a cork-clad facade. Named the Cross Cabin, the ADU occupies around 93 square meters, in a 743-square meter soling yard. The home provides surreal views of the horizon through the tree canopy. The Cross Cabin was completed in 2023, to build a holistic structure that is in adherence to the AIA Architecture and Design Materials Pledge. It is inspired by Micheal Pollan’s book Food Rules, and hence the studio used plant-based materials that were not very heavily processed… The cork-clad exterior of the home slowly converts into a wooden interior, amped with cross-laminated timber, solid-sawn lumber, plywood, and thermally treated Larch floor.

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Researchers test limits with 3D-printed concrete made from wood pulp: ‘The opportunities are unlimited’

By Jon Turi
The Cool Down
August 28, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science have been testing a plant-based additive to concrete that is 3D-printable and could improve structural strength. The material is called cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), and initial studies have shown that just 0.3% of it in a cement mixture results in a smooth flow for printing with fewer air bubbles, improving structural strength, as Interesting Engineering reported. “The improvements we saw on both printability and mechanical measures suggest that incorporating cellulose nanofibrils in commercial printable materials could lead to more resilient and eco-friendly construction practices sooner rather than later,” according to Osman E. Ozbulut, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, per the report. The use of 3D printing in building construction continues to be explored, as it can frequently rely on recycled materials, is more time- and cost-effective than traditional methods, and allows for highly customizable designs.

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New Unifi offerings add to push for recycled polyethylene terephthalate end uses

By Antoinette Smith
Plastics Recycling Update
August 28, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

U.S. recycled PET end markets have shifted focus from textiles to food packaging in recent years. But North Carolina-based Unifi is working on building end uses for recycled plastics in fashion and other fabric applications, the CEO said in a recent interview. CEO Eddie Ingle said there’s an energy at Unifi to create cotton-like fabrics from recycled PET with the touch and feel of cotton viscose, also known as rayon blends. Viscose is the most used artificial cellulosic fiber, derived mostly from wood pulp, according to the Textile Exchange, of which Unifi is a member. Unifi’s most recent product launches include its ThermaLoop insulation line, made from 100% recycled content, with at least half of that from end-of-life textiles. Available in several forms – padding, fiber similar to goose down and fiberball – ThermoLoop is designed for use in home goods, and in outdoor gear such as sleeping bags and winter coats. 

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Forestry

Province acquires land to expand Okanagan Lake Park

By Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Government of British Columbia
August 29, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

A waterfront property along Okanagan Lake will gain permanent protection so more people can enjoy outdoor recreation in B.C.’s Interior. The Province, in partnership with the BC Parks Foundation, has invested $10.5 million to acquire 11.4 hectares of waterfront property. It is intended to be added to Okanagan Lake Park, a popular destination for beachgoers and water-sports enthusiasts. … Located on the north side of Okanagan Lake Park, the land includes approximately 436 metres of shoreline that has important habitat for at-risk species, such as freshwater mussels, Lewis’s woodpecker and western screech owl. …Through the acquisition of private land and partnerships with conservation groups, individual donors, the BC Parks Foundation and supporters, the Province regularly adds land to the parks and protected areas system. Several steps are required before the land is legally added to the park, including consultation with First Nations. … Since 2017, the Province has invested $45.5 million to add 1,320 hectares to 41 parks in B.C.

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Managing Coastal Fog Belt Forests with Fire in Mind

By Aaron Groth and Carrie Berger
Oregon State University
August 29, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Credit: Micah Schmidt

The coastal fog belt is a narrow environmental band that hugs Oregon’s coastline. It can extend about 20 miles inland and up to elevations of about 500 feet. In other areas, it may be only a few miles wide. Due to its proximity to the ocean, this ecoregion has a temperate climate. Winters are wet, and summers are often foggy. Despite their generally cool, moist conditions, these forests produce a lot of fuel and can burn at high intensity when weather conditions feature low relative humidity, high temperatures, sustained wind speeds and an ignition source. Most fires burn under moderate conditions and are extinguished at less than 1 acre. Historically, the coastal fog belt forests burned infrequently — every 300–1,000 years — and at high-severity (stand-replacing crown fire). Well-documented large fires occurred in the late 1800’s to mid-1900’s. In addition to wildfire, windthrow, flooding, landslides, pests and diseases can also disturb these forests.

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MSU researchers contribute to study revealing salamanders are surprisingly abundant in eastern North American forests

By Emilie Lorditch
MSU Today
August 28, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

Michigan State University researchers contributed to a recent amphibian-focused study that shed light on the ecological importance of red-backed salamanders. Scientists knew that red-backed salamanders were abundant in eastern North America, but a recent study found their densities and biomass were much higher than expected. The study marks the first time that the densities and biomass for this common, but rarely seen, species were calculated across the extent of its range… The incredible magnitude of red-backed salamander presence in the eastern North American captured in this study suggests that red-backed salamanders, and likely amphibians in general, play a more prevalent role in terrestrial temperate ecosystems than previously suspected… Unfortunately, just as scientists are beginning to understand the true magnitude of salamanders’ hidden biodiversity and ecological importance, a new wildlife disease that is particularly hard on salamanders is a looming threat and a serious concern for scientists and wildlife managers.

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Vaporized pines: large-scale experiment investigates air and soil dryness in forests

By Beate Kittl and Marcus Schaub
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research
August 28, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: International

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 research will be conducted from the plant cell to the tree and ecosystem level.

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The national forestry planning for 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, approved

By Chu Khoi
VnEconomy
August 27, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Vietnam targets to increase the export value of wood and wood products to $20 billion by 2025 and $25 billion by 2030 under the national forestry planning for 2021-20230 period, with a vision to 2050. The planning was approved under Prime Ministerial Decision No. 895/QD-TTg, signed on August 24 by then Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang. Under the plan, Vietnam aims to have over 15.8 million ha of forests and forestry land by 2030. This includes 15.5% allocated for special use forests, 33% for protective forests, and 51.5% for production forests. The goal is to maintain national forest coverage between 42-43% while significantly enhancing the quality of existing natural forests. Specific targets include an annual forestry production growth rate of 5-5.5%, planting an average of 238,000 ha of production forests each year, and restoring 22,500 ha of natural forests annually.

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Shot-hole borer quarantine zone in Perth could expand as Western Australian government considers options

By Pip Waller, Jacqueline Lynch, Belinda Varischetti, and Olivia Thorn
ABC News Australia
August 27, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: International

A West Australian arborist says the shot-hole borer is keeping him awake at night as the state government looks to expand quarantine boundaries to stop the spread of the pest. The small beetle has infested thousands of trees in Perth, including fruit trees in orchards, which had to be cut down. Arborist Dave Crispin is particularly worried about the pest spreading into regional areas. … “The beetle can live for six or seven months in a piece of dead wood,” he said. “I would recommend that any mulch that comes onto a property and someone delivers it, try and check back and see where that mulch has come from. … The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development set up the quarantine area to help with surveillance of the spread of the borer and to restrict the movement of wood and plant material. The quarantine zone covers 25 local government areas.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Climate change reducing land suitable for growing timber

By Stephen Beech
Citizen Tribune
August 29, 2024
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

The world is facing a timber crisis as climate change pushes cropland further north, warns a new study. Global warming will move and reduce the land suitable for growing food and timber – putting the production of both vital resources into direct competition, say Cambridge University scientists. If no action is taken to combat climate change a quarter of the world’s forestry land – equivalent to the size of India – will become more suitable for agriculture by the end of the century, according to the new report… Most forests for timber production are currently in the northern hemisphere in the US, Canada, China and Russia. The study found that 90% of all current forestry land that will become agriculturally productive by 2100 will be in those four countries.

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