Paper and Trees Flashcards
Two major types of trees
Deciduous and Coniferous
Deciduous
- Leaves fall off, seasonal
- Hard wood
- Short fibers
- Add opacity and brightness
Coniferous
- Leaves don’t fall off
- soft wood
- longer fibers
- add strength to paper
3 fiber sources for paper
- Virgin Trees
- Recycled Paper
- Wood chips from lumber mills
- All used equally according to EPA results
DBH
- Diameter Breast Height
- How Foresters determine which trees are ready for removal
- 4.5 Feet
- Go up to the crown
- You calculate the Diameter
- You take the circumference and divide it by 3.14 (pie)
- You get the timber volume
Classification of Forest
- Temperate
- Tropical
- Boreal
Temperate
Here, trees don’t grow year round
Tropical
- Around Bands of Equator
- Year round growth of trees
- Most valuable forest
Boreal
- Grow furthest North and South
- Coldest climates
- Siberian Forest is largest forest in Russia
Deforestation
Permanent removal of forest/trees
Reforestation
Replanting of new trees after removal
Afforestation
Planting of trees where there were no trees
Paper is not the cause of deforestation
For every tree that is cut , 2-3 more are planted
Carole King
- Used emotional appeal in argument
- Status as a celebrity
- wanted us to send letters to president to stop commercial logging in U.S. National Forests
Peter Stewart
Bachelors in Forestry, Masters in Economics
- used logical appeal
- was data driven
John Muir
- advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States
- used photographic evidence
- sent image and letter to Teddy Roosevelt
How did Native Americans maintain their forest?
- intentional fires
- burned to clear out over growth
- Cultivated new growths
4 Factors to make a Sustainable Forestry
- All parts of the forest are the basis to make it a sustainable forest : ex smaller plants, animal life, selective cutting (DBH)
- Protect the forest
- Must consider the needs of people
- Preserve sufficient forest/ trees for future generation
Economic Stand point for Sustainable Forestry
- Forest amenity values
- Forests are a resource base
- Forests are sinks for residual flows
- Forests are a life support system
FIA - Forest Inventory Analyst
- USFS is required to conduct National Forest Inventory
- Base year is 1953
- The inventory is found the volume of the timber to be 51% greater than the base year due to better forestry practices
Major criticism of paper by environmentalists
- Excess Tree Removal Worldwide
- Urban Development
- Energy Consumption and GHG
- Water Consumption
- Landfill Waste
Excess Tree Removal Worldwide
Animal Farming is a large cause of deforestation largely in South America
Urban Development
Countries in Africa and South America have experienced large population increases in the last 40-50 years. Most of the population has moved from rural areas to cities. As a result significant loss of forest have occurred
Energy Consumption and GHG
- Paper Mills generate nearly all of their own power from bioenergy (Bark and liquid biomass)
- In 2020 99% of electricity produced by the industry was generated on site via cogeneration power, sometimes referred to as combined heat and power
- 2022 the nationwide paper recycling rate was just under 68%
-When recycled paper is reused to make new paper, energy consumption goes way down
Water Consumption
- Paper mills reuse water seven times
- The paper industry has developed methods to reduce water consumption by 8.3% since base year of 2005
- Use of recycled paper reduced water consumption
Landfill Waste
- 2/3 of paper is recycled
- The 1/3rd that ends up in landfills is biodegradable
Demand increases , Supply increases
- Demand drives supply
- If Demand is reduced , Supply decreases
- If we reduce consumption, supply goes down
Who buys the trees?
- Paper mills buy smaller trees, lumber yards buy the straight larger trees
-Smaller trees are less expensive
