Wood science is the scientific field which studies and investigates the formation, physical and chemical composition, and macro- and microstructure of wood as a bio-based and lignocellulosic material. Wood science additionally covers the biological, chemical, physical, and mechanical properties and characteristics of wood as a natural material. It is an interdisciplinary field combining fundamental aspects of biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering to understand and utilise wood in various applications. Wood science has applications in wood processing, construction and the production of materials and products such as particleboard, fiberboard, OSB, plywood, pulpwood, furniture and engineered wood products including glued laminated timber, CLT, LVL, PSL, pellets and briquettes.
History Initial comprehensive investigations in the field of wood science emerged at the start of the 20th century. In 1902, the Wood Processing Laboratory was founded in the Department of Forestry at Tokyo University and academic studies on wood processing were first initiated. The Forest and Forest Products Research Institute in Tokyo was also established in 1905. In 1906 the Forest Products Research Institute was created in Dehradun, India. The advent of contemporary wood research commenced in 1910, when the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) was established in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. The Forest Products Laboratory played a fundamental role in wood science providing scientific research on wood and wood products in partnership with academia, industry, local and other institutions in North and South America and worldwide. In the following years, several wood research institutes came into existence across almost all industrialized nations. A general overview of these wood institutes and laboratories is shown below:
1913: Institute of Wood and Pulp Chemistry Eberswalde (today's Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development), Germany 1913: Forest Products Laboratory Montreal, Canada 1918: Forest Products Laboratory Vancouver, Canada 1919: Forest Products Laboratory Melbourne, Australia 1923: Department of Mechanics and Wood Technology, University of Sopron, Hungary 1923: Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough, Great Britain 1929: Institute for Wood Science and Technology, Leningrant, St. Petersburg, USSR 1933: Centre Technique du Bois, Paris, France 1936: Wood Department of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing in Zurich (today's Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), Switzerland 1942: Laboratory of Wood Technology Helsinki, Finland 1944: Swedish Forest Products Research Laboratory, former TRÄTEK (today's Research Institutes of Sweden), Sweden 1946: Latvian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Wood Chemistry, Latvia 1946: Institute for Wood Research, iVTH (today's Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research), Germany 1947: State Wood Research Institute Bratislava, Slovakia 1947: Forest Research Institute – Rotorua (today's Scion), New Zealand 1948: Austrian Wood Research Institute Vienna (today's Holzforschung Austria), Austria 1949: Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology, Norway 1950: Federal Institute for Forestry and Forest Products (today's Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute), Germany 1952: Institute for Wood Technology and Fibers (today's Institute for Wood Technology Dresden), Germany 1952: Institute for Wood Research and Wood Technology (today's Wood Research Munich), Germany 1954: Faculty of Wood Technology, Poznan University (today's Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Poznan), Poland. From the '60s, the founding of research institutes in the field of wood sciences continued in many universities, and also in universities of applied sciences, and technological universities. Today, the International Academy of Wood Science (known as IAWS), a widely recognised and non-profit assembly of wood and wood-related scientists, represents worldwide the scientific area of wood science and technology, and all of its associated technological domains.
Sub-areas
The field of wood science can be categorized into three distinct main sub-areas, which include:
Wood biology, a subset of wood science which focuses on the formation, structure and composition of wood tissues. It involves investigations conducted at the macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular levels. Additionally, this sub-field encompasses wood anatomy which involves the (macroscopic - microscopic) identification of various wood species. Wood chemistry, whose primary focus is the analysis of the chemical constituents comprising wood, with specific emphasis on cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, and extractives, as well as on the various products derived from these components. It is also explores potential uses for pulp and paper production, the utilization of wood and wood waste, the generation of energy and chemicals from pulping byproducts, and the conversion of biomass. Wood physics, which constitutes an essential component of the field of wood science, building upon discoveries in wood chemistry, wood anatomy (xylem), and biology, as well as principles from classical physics, mechanics, and materials strength. Wood physics encompasses critical research areas including: a) examining wood behaviour in relation to moisture, which involves fundamental aspects of moisture absorption, swelling, and shrinkage, b) investigating the impact of temperature on wood properties, encompassing heat conduction and heat storage, and c) assessing the mechanical, rheological, and acoustic properties and qualities of both wood and wood-based products.
Scientific journals Below is a list of the referred scientific journals within the area of wood sciences:
Holzforschung European Journal of Wood and Wood Products Wood Science and Technology Wood Material Science and Engineering Cellulose Mokuzai Gakkaishi Journal of Wood Science BioResources IAWA Journal Maderas: Ciencia y Tecnología Wood Research Journal of Wood Chemistry and Technology Forest Products Journal Wood and Fiber Science Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology International Wood Products Journal Drvna Industrija Drewno Journal of the Indian Academy of Wood Science Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries
Further reading Peter Niemz, Alfred Teischinger, Dick Sandberg (2023). Springer Handbook of Wood Science and Technology, Springer 2023, ISBN 978-3-030-81314-7. George Tsoumis (2009). Science and Technology of Wood - Structure, Properties, Utilization. Publishing House Kessel, ISBN 9783941300224. Callum A.S. Hill (2006): Wood Modification: Chemical, Thermal and Other Processes. Wiley 2006, ISBN 0-470-02172-1. Franz F.P. Kollmann, Edward W. Kuenzi, Alfred J. Stamm (1975). Principles of Wood Science and Technology II., Springer 1975, ISBN 978-3-642-87933-3.
References
External links "Springer Handbook of Wood Science and Technology" source: springer.com Google Scholar Wood Science and Technology The International Academy of Wood Science IAWS International Society of Wood Science and Technology InsideWood, NCSU by Elisabeth Wheeler et al. dataholz.eu Archived 2023-10-30 at the Wayback Machine Holzforschung Austria The main tropical wood species CIRAD France Wood Handbook Forest Products Laboratory at Madison delta-intkey.com The Wood Database Wallenberg Wood Science Center TUM - Wood Science and Biotechnology Institute of Wood Science & Technology at Bangalore European Journal of Wood and Wood Products