Show simple item record

dc.contributor.advisorPatterson, Dale
dc.contributor.advisorGilbert, Benoit
dc.contributor.authorUnderhill, Ian David
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-23T02:28:41Z
dc.date.available2018-01-23T02:28:41Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.identifier.doi10.25904/1912/434
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/366340
dc.description.abstractOver the last 10 to 15 years forestry plantation estates in Australia have increased in area by almost 50%. Much of this expansion can be attributed to new private-sector investment in sub-tropical and tropical Eucalypt plantations driven in part by favourable changes in taxation law and an increasing national and global demand for high quality sawn timber. While Australia has historically been a key exporter of hardwoods sourced from native forests, the development of a sub-tropical hardwood plantation industry has proven problematic. An array of factors, including long crop rotations that are sometimes in excess of 20 - 35 years, considerable production risks such as fires, cyclones, endemic and exotic pests and diseases, limited land availability and high establishment cost, have collectively undermined the economic viability of the sector. Producing high quality logs also comes with high-cost silvicultural practices that necessitate early plantation estate thinning to remove low quality trees, and pruning to improve log quality by minimising knots and defects. As a result, the profitability of the sub-tropical and tropical plantation hardwood sector in Australia is questionable. In the first 15 years of production up to three quarters (700 trees per hectare) of the hardwood plantation is removed through pruning and thinning processes. Currently, there are few if any identified viable markets for these small diameter low-grade trees termed ‘thinnings’. If new products that make use of thinnings could be identified, it could provide important early financial returns to the industry. Turning current commercial forest wastage into potential high-value alternative wood products would potentially ensure the economic viability of the sub-tropical and tropical hardwood plantation sector in Queensland.
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherGriffith University
dc.publisher.placeBrisbane
dc.rights.copyrightThe author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
dc.subject.keywordsWood veneers
dc.subject.keywordsEngineered wood
dc.subject.keywordsEucalypt plantations
dc.subject.keywordsHardwood plantations
dc.titleThe Development and Assessment of Engineered Wood Products Manufactured from Low Grade Eucalyptus Plantation Thinnings
dc.typeGriffith thesis
gro.facultyArts, Education and Law
gro.rights.copyrightThe author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
dc.rights.accessRightsPublic
gro.identifier.gurtIDgu1504570257536
gro.thesis.degreelevelThesis (PhD Doctorate)
gro.thesis.degreeprogramDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
gro.departmentQueensland College of Art
gro.griffith.authorUnderhill, Ian D.


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record