Forest Products
This slide show can be used as a stand alone resource or to support the activity “We All Need Trees” in the Project Learning Tree PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. If you received a Virginia Grown bag at the VAST Conference, there is a printed copy of the activity in the bag.
Part One:
Where do trees grow? How many different products come from trees?
Trees can’t grow everywhere. 31% of the land on earth is forested.
Forests cover 33% of the land area of the United States.
Virginia has abundant, diverse forests.
Upland Hardwoods
61%
Birch-Beech-Maple
2%
Lowland Hardwood
5%
Oak-Pine11%
Natural Pine7%
Pine Plantation13% Non-Stocked
1%
Forest Type Groups, Virginia 2012
Source: USFS-FIA
Forests are a renewable resource. Virginia’s forests provide:
• Clean air and water• Scenic beauty• Fish and wildlife habitat• Recreational opportunities• Carbon sequestration• Mitigation of global climate change• $17 billion in forest products annually• 104,000 jobs
Forest products are an important part of Virginia’s economy.
What do we make out of trees in Virginia?27% of industrial facilities in Virginia manufacture forest
products. We have approximately:
129 sawmills 170 furniture plants 55 millwork plants 8 plywood, particleboard, OSB and other panel mills 55 pallet plants 27 treating plants 8 pulp and paper mills 100 paper products plants 8 pellet plants
Logs and Lumber
Paper Products
Containers
Structural Wood Panels
Pallets
Posts and Poles
• Animal bedding and litter products
• Soil conditioners, amendments, mulches
• Landscape decorative products
• Packing material
Chips, Shavings & Excelsior, Sawdust, Bark, and Pine
Straw
Animal Bedding
• Kudzu• Honeysuckle• Tree of Heaven• Paulownia• Bamboo• Red Cedar• Oriental Bittersweet
Invasive/Specialty Products
• Burls• Walking canes• Turning wood• Wood carving• Taxidermy
mounts• Art projects• Custom Furniture
Decorative Wood
• Hemlock• Lichens• Oak wood and bark• Willow• Pine needles• Leaves of cattails, rushes,
sedges• Vines of honeysuckle and
Virginia creeper• Kudzu
Weaving and Dyeing Materials
• Decorative cones for floral, wreath and potpourri products
• Seed cones for tree nurseries
• Price per pound varies from $0.15- $0.75/pound
Cones and Seeds
• Christmas trees, tips, greenery, boughs, holly, mistletoe,
• Native tree transplants (balled & burlapped)-rhododendron, dogwood, magnolia
• Bark moss, Galax, grapevines, Spanish moss
Greenery, Transplants, Floral Products
• Balsam fir• Birch • Cedar leaf • Hemlock• Sassafras • Spruce• Cedar wood• Wintergreen
Aromatic Oils
• Culinary uses– Herbs and spices - St. John’s wort– Edible greens, roots, or tubers-
wild garlic, sassafras• Medicinal and Pharmaceutical
– Roots – Mayapple - pain killer– Herbs - chickweed - iron– Leaves – wintergreen - flavoring– Buds – rosehips - Vitamin C
Medicinals and Pharmaceuticals
• Maple syrup• Maple sugar• Birch beer• Sarsaparilla• Sassafras tea• Black Cherry
Syrup, Flavorings, etc.
• Apples• Autumn Olive• Black cherry• Blackberry• Blueberry• Chokeberry• Crabapple• Elderberry• Gooseberry• Huckleberry• Mayhaw• Mulberry• Pawpaw
• Persimmon• Plum• Prickly Pear Cactus• Staghorn sumac
Fruit for humans and wildlife
• Varieties – sourwood, tupelo, yellow poplar
• Candles & Crafts• Food • Medicines
Honey, beeswax, bee pollen
• Cultivated– Shiitake– Matsutake– Chanterelle– Oyster
• Wild harvested– Chanterelle– Morels– Matsutake– Oyster
Mushrooms for food source
• Beechnut• Butternut• Chestnut• Golden chinquapin• Hazelnut• Hickory• Pecan• Persimmon• Walnut• Pine nuts• Acorns
Nuts for food source
• Apple• Bigleaf maple• Cherry• Hickory• Mesquite• Oak• Sugar maple
Cooking wood, smoke wood, charcoal, flavor
wood
Biomass Energy
Longwood University’s biomass heating plant
Dominion’s Pittsylvaniapower station
Wood Pellets
Natural Hardwood Charcoal
Sawdust
ChemicalAdditives
GranularPowder
ExtrudedPellets
StructuredHoneycomb
Activated Carbon
In Covington, MWV converts sawdust into the activated carbon which is found in the carbon canisters of 100% of American vehicles and 90% of European vehicles.
Energy+
Chemicals and Nano-Fibers
What are nano-fibers?Videos on noncellulose are here:http://www.tappi.org/Groups/Divisions/Nanotechnology/nanovideo.aspx and a slide show here: http://www.tappi.org/content/events/08nano/papers/08nan59.pdf
What types of chemicals come from trees?Browse through the Specialty Chemicals section of this website, http://www.mwv.com/en-us/about/packaging-matters to see an amazing array of chemical products manufactured from trees.
http://www.gp.com/Products/Products-Overview provides an overview of a wide variety of product categories, including chemicals.
Part Two:
How much wood do we have in Virginia?
Forest Inventory & Analysis Program•The US Forest Service and the Virginia Department of Forestry work together to assess and monitor the condition of the forests in our state. •There are 4600 permanent research plots that have been sampled 9 times since 1940. •Survey results can be found here: http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/states/virginia.shtml
Forest Growth(Volume of All Live Trees on Timberland)
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
1940 1957 1966 1977 1986 1992 2001 2010
Hardwoods
Softwoods
Vo
lum
e (
Bi ll
ion
cu
. ft.
)
Since 1940, total live tree volume has more than doubled.
Tree growth exceeds harvest in Virginia.
2001 2007 2011 20120.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
Statewide Annual Net Growth & Removals for Softwood & Hard-
wood (MM Tons)
Softwood GrowthSoftwood RemovalsHardwood GrowthHardwood Removals
Source: USFS-FIA
1907 1940 1957 1966 1977 1986 1992 2001 2007 20100
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Year
Mil
lio
n a
cre
s
Virginia Forestland Acres
So what can we do?• Learn everything we can about the natural world and the resources we use.• Learn how to conserve our use of natural resources with our everyday choices.• and…
Plant more trees!
More information on forest products at: National PLT WebsiteVirginia PLT Website
Questions? Contact Lisa [email protected]
804-966-2201www.dof.virginia.gov