Wood quality from fast-grown plantations

As forestry becomes more intensive and as forestry operations move toward the tropical areas, an increasing proportion of the wood available to the industry will come from young, fast-grown plantations. The wood of such trees, especially from the conifers, is so different that it will have a major effect on utilization and product standards. Acceptability of wood from fast-grown plantations will change as solid wood and paper quality standards change. Some of the primary effects on wood and products from fast-grown plantations are discussed in this paper. The wood is very suitable for some products and poor for others. The paper reports on conifers and hardwoods separately, with a large section on Eucalyptus.