Brazil Eucalyptus Laboratory: Modelling Productivity

Eucalyptus Ecology & Environmental Sustainability : it is about Science

Stape JL, Binkley D, Ryan MG, Fonseca S, Loos RA, Takahashi EN, Silva CR, Silva SR, Hakamada RE, Ferreira JM de A, Lima AMN, Gava JL, Leite FP, Andrade HB, Alves JM, Silva GGC, Azevedo MR. (2010) The Brazil Eucalyptus Potential Productivity Project: Influence of water, nutrients and stand uniformity on wood production. Forest Ecology and Management 259: 1684-1694. (Click image to enlarge)

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Fig. 1: BEPP (Brazilian Eucalyptus Potential Productivity) Field Forestry Laboratory: Different clonal Eucalyptus tree stocking areas are subject to variations of availability of light, water and nutrients to simulate different silvicultural practices, different cultivation areas along Brazil and different genotypes for Eucalyptus tree crops.

Fig. 2: Brazilian BEPP Eucalyptus Field Laboratory: Different experimental designs are applied to the range of tree stocking plots in order to gain insight and be able to predict how and in which amounts do clonal Eucalyptus plantations use the available building materials (light, water, nutrients) to produce woody biomass in fast growing timber crops.

Fig. 3: Brazilian BEPP Eucalyptus Field Laboratory: Modelling water and nutrient cycles in clonal Eucalyptus plantations is achieved by monitoring soil status before, along and after the cultivation cycle, plus designing and building on site water collection infrastructures. Water cycle balances can hence be studied, and variations depending on rainfall, canopy interception, trunk percolation, soil absorption and excess runoff can be measured and modelized. This can later be linked to different silvicultural practices, to predict the impacts of clonal Eucalyptus plantations and to refine cultivation techniques to achieve as sustainable production as possible.

Fig. 4: Brazilian BEPP Eucalyptus Field Laboratory: Modelling water and nutrient cycles and predicting growth rates in clonal Eucalyptus plantations. Different rainfall patterns or soil water availability ranges are simulated by artificial irrigation, allowing to expand the models, predictions and estimations to different cultivation areas of Brazil, different seasonal types, different soil types, different topographic conditions for clonal Eucalyptus timber crops.

Fig. 5: Brazilian BEPP Eucalyptus Field Laboratory: FIBRIA's (Aracruz + Votorantim) staff installing water use monitoring sensors. Target: modelling Eucalyptus water use efficiency and its impact on growth rates. Individual tree water use studies are conducted by monitoring how, when and how much water (or "nutrient soup" if you preffer) is used by the trees to produce biomass.

Fig. 6: Brazilian BEPP Eucalyptus Field Laboratory: Modelling Eucalyptus water use efficiency and its impact on growth rates. Subject to the range of variation in genotypes, tree stocking and water inputs, empirical monitoring of water use can allow an estimation of both growth rates for varied environments suitable for timber crops and of water consumption and impacts on water availability at catchment level.

Fig. 7: Brazilian BEPP Eucalyptus Field Laboratory: Modelling the carbon capture process in clonal Eucalyptus plantations. Eucalyptus timber crops convert solar energy, available water and soil mineral nutrients into organic, renewable, recyclable and carbon rich biomass. Part of that biomass becomes fiber or wood based products, thus temporary CO2 sinks of diverse lifetimes at once they are the basement for industrial timber production. Another part of that biomass becomes a permanent stock of stored CO2 in sustainably managed plantations. Yet another part of that biomass decays naturally along time and emits carbon, but at once returns mineral nutrients to the soil cycles, diminishing the need of external inputs of other fertiliser with a more noticeable carbon footprint. The emitted plus an impressive extra amount of CO2 is captured again by the trees to build biomass in continuous cycles making clonal Eucalyptus plantations become air purifiers and net carbon stockers, hence contributing twice to the fight against climate change.

Fig. 8: During the last 15 years, a joint research consortium of 5 universities (University of Sao Paulo – ESALQ, Universidade Federal da Bahía, Universidade Federal do Río Grande do Norte, Colorado State University and North Carolina State University), 8 Brazilian forestry corporations (Aracruz Celulose, Cenibra, Copener Florestal, International Paper do Brasil, Suzano Bahia Sul Celulose, Votorantim Celulose e Papel, Veracel Celulose and V & M Florestal) plus 4 governmental forestry research agencies (the Brazilian Institute for Forestry Studies & Research - IPEF, the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the USDA Forest Service; the Brazilian National Council for Scientific & Technological Development - CNPq; and the French Centre for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research & Development / CIRAD - France) has become one of the most impressive and world leading technical and scientific teams for fast growing plantation timber ecology modelling, and has produced an inmense wealth scientific data and evidence supporting decission making for an increasingly sustainable management of eucalypt cultivated forests. At once, thanks to them and many others in many countries, Eucalyptus timber plantations have become one of the best scientifically studied and monitored options for both timber production and carbon storage, supplying all concerned individuals with sound information able to unmask the propagation of Eucalyptus myths. Brazil: Ordem, e Progresso.

Want to know more? Recent Eucalyptus science!

Dan Binkley, Jean-Paul Laclau, Jose Luiz Stape & Michael G. Ryan (2010) Applying ecological insights to increase productivity in tropical plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 259, Issue 9, Productivity in Tropical Plantations, Pages 1681-1683, ISSN 0378-1127, DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.023

Michael G. Ryan, Jose Luiz Stape, Dan Binkley, Sebastiao Fonseca, Rodolfo A. Loos, Ernesto N. Takahashi, Claudio R. Silva, Sergio R. Silva, Rodrigo E. Hakamada, Jose Mario Ferreira, Augusto M.N. Lima, Jose Luiz Gava, Fernando P. Leite, Helder B. Andrade, Jacyr M. Alves, Gualter G.C. Silva (2010) Factors controlling Eucalyptus productivity: How water availability and stand structure alter production and carbon allocation. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 259, Issue 9, Productivity in Tropical Plantations, Pages 1695-1703, ISSN 0378-1127, DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.013

Dan Binkley, Jose Luiz Stape, William L. Bauerle, Michael G. Ryan (2010) Explaining growth of individual trees: Light interception and efficiency of light use by Eucalyptus at four sites in Brazil. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 259, Issue 9, Productivity in Tropical Plantations, Pages 1704-1713, ISSN 0378-1127, DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.037

Robert M. Hubbard, Jose Stape, Michael G. Ryan, Auro C. Almeida, Juan Rojas (2010) Effects of irrigation on water use and water use efficiency in two fast growing Eucalyptus plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 259, Issue 9, Productivity in Tropical Plantations, Pages 1714-1721, ISSN 0378-1127, DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.028

Auro C. Almeida, Anders Siggins, Thiago R. Batista, Chris Beadle, Sebastiao Fonseca, Rodolfo Loos (2010) Mapping the effect of spatial and temporal variation in climate and soils on Eucalyptus plantation production with 3-PG, a process-based growth model. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 259, Issue 9, Productivity in Tropical Plantations, Pages 1730-1740, ISSN 0378-1127, DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.008

Celso E. B. Foelkel & Ester Foelkel (2008) The Friends of the Eucalyptus: Dr. José Luiz Stape. Eucalyptus Newsletter nº 14. Grau Celsius' Eucalyptus Online Book & Newsletter. www.eucalyptus.com.br

Binkley, D., Laclau, J., Stape, J., & Ryan, M. (2010). Applying ecological insights to increase productivity in tropical plantations Forest Ecology and Management, 259 (9), 1681-1683 DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.023

Ryan, M., Stape, J., Binkley, D., Fonseca, S., Loos, R., Takahashi, E., Silva, C., Silva, S., Hakamada, R., & Ferreira, J. (2010). Factors controlling Eucalyptus productivity: How water availability and stand structure alter production and carbon allocation Forest Ecology and Management, 259 (9), 1695-1703 DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.013

Binkley, D., Stape, J., Bauerle, W., & Ryan, M. (2010). Explaining growth of individual trees: Light interception and efficiency of light use by Eucalyptus at four sites in Brazil Forest Ecology and Management, 259 (9), 1704-1713 DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.037

Hubbard, R., Stape, J., Ryan, M., Almeida, A., & Rojas, J. (2010). Effects of irrigation on water use and water use efficiency in two fast growing Eucalyptus plantations Forest Ecology and Management, 259 (9), 1714-1721 DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.028

Almeida, A., Siggins, A., Batista, T., Beadle, C., Fonseca, S., & Loos, R. (2010). Mapping the effect of spatial and temporal variation in climate and soils on Eucalyptus plantation production with 3-PG, a process-based growth model Forest Ecology and Management, 259 (9), 1730-1740 DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.008

Foelkel, C. & Foelkel, E. (2010) The Friends of the Eucalyptus: Prof. Dr. Dan Binkley. Eucalyptus Newsletter nº 28. Grau Celsius' Eucalyptus Online Book & Newsletter. www.eucalyptus.com.br

Foelkel, C. & Foelkel, E. (2008) The Friends of the Eucalyptus: Dr. José Luiz Stape. Eucalyptus Newsletter nº 14. Grau Celsius' Eucalyptus Online Book & Newsletter. www.eucalyptus.com.br

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Wood Particleboard: Global Growth Expected

Particleboard Production Increasing Worldwide

New plants in South Asia, Eastern Europe and South America coming on stream

Global production of particleboard is forecast to increase from 69.9 million cubic meters in 2009 to 84.1 million cubic meters in 2013, based on current expansion plans and estimated capacity utilization rates, according to leading economic forecaster and industry analyst, BIS Shrapnel.

BIS Shrapnel’s Particleboard in the Pacific Rim and Europe, 2009 – 2013 report found production of particleboard in Asia has been growing rapidly over the past decade, but greater Europe, including Russia and Turkey, remains the dominant particleboard producing region.

The increase in production of particleboard is being driven by strong growth in the key end-use sectors of the product – housing construction and furniture manufacturing. Similar findings were shown in BIS Shrapnel’s companion report, Medium Density Fiberboard in the Pacific Rim and Europe, released last month.

The downturn in housing construction in the United States reached the bottom of the cycle in 2009, and is expected to move into a rapid upswing from 2010 to 2013. This will drive economic growth not only in the United States, but in many of its key trading partners around the world. It will also drive renewed demand for furniture, and ultimately the demand for particleboard and MDF. Housing construction in other key regions such as Europe and Asia will also drive an upward phase in the demand for particleboard and MDF over the forecast period.

In 2009 Europe produced 62% of the world’s particleboard, North Asia produced 14%, North America produced 9%, South Asia produced 8%, South America produced 6%, and Australasia produced 1%.

Production of particleboard in Europe is forecast to drop slightly to 60% of the world's total by 2013. Over the same period production in North America and South Asia is expected to increase slightly to 9%, and in South America production in forecast to increase to 7%. Production of particleboard in North Asia and in Australasia will remain unchanged.

“Europe, North America and South Asia have been the key particleboard producing regions” says report author and BIS Shrapnel senior manager, Bernie Neufeld. “These regions will continue to be the main growth areas over the forecast period, with considerable additional production coming on stream in South America as well.”

Confirmed new industrial capacity for particleboard will amount to 6.4 million cubic metres by 2013. There have been announcements for several new plants in key producing regions, including one known plant planned for Malaysia, two each for Russia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, three for Brazil, and seven for Turkey.

Particleboard, as with medium-density fiberboard (MDF), is mainly used in housing construction and furniture manufacturing. MDF, however, is quite expensive and there is potential for particleboard to replace MDF as a more cost-effective alternative for furniture manufacturing as well as a substitute for plywood.

“In South America, some new plants are being re-branded as Medium-Density Particleboard (MDP), presumably to promote the ability to substitute MDF with particleboard” says Neufeld.

As the global financial crisis took hold in 2009, consumption of particleboard declined by 5%. BIS Shrapnel is forecasting a modest 3% increase in consumption in 2010, followed by an acceleration to 8% increase in 2011 & 2012, then a slight drop to 5% increase in 2013. The average annual growth in consumption will be 6% over the four years from 2010 to 2013, which is a total increase of approximately 24% over the forecast period.

“The projected rate of growth in consumption is slightly stronger than the forecasts for production, which should help absorb idle capacity in some regions and new capacity in others” says Neufeld. “The regions with the strongest potential for growth in consumption of particleboard are similar to the key producing regions –Eastern Europe, mainly Turkey and Russia, China, South Asia and South America”.

BIS Shrapnel found the global financial crisis also had a significant impact on particleboard prices – which are estimated to have declined by an average of 16% in 2009. Over the four years from 2010 to 2013, as the global economy moves into an upward phase, prices are projected to increase by an annual average of 6%.

“However, a declining US dollar could result in sharper price rises than projected” says Neufeld. “Prices may also be driven up by the economic recovery, a shift to more stringent emission standards, rising input costs, a limited expansion of capacity in some regions, and a rapid increase in capacity utilization.”

Neufeld says it is a mixed bag for trade in particleboard over the forecast period. The USA, Japan, South Korea, India, Vietnam and other key developing regions are expected to be the most significant net importing regions over the forecast period. Australasia also imports small amounts of particleboard, and this is projected to increase over the forecast period as consumption expands while production capacity declines.

While India and Vietnam are noted net importers, South Asia as a region is a net exporter of +1.6 million cubic meters per year, mostly from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

“Demand for particleboard may also grow in areas such as Pakistan, the Middle East and other developing countries over the forecast period” says Neufeld. “While these regions have not been included in our analysis, they have the potential to grow as export markets over the forecast period.”

About BIS Shrapnel

BIS Shrapnel is Australia's leading provider of industry research, analysis and forecasting services. BIS Shrapnel helps clients better understand the markets in which they operate, through reliable and detailed market data, analysis of developments and drivers and thoroughly researched forecasts.

BIS Shrapnel compiles accurate, clearly explained and detailed information on industry sectors, markets and industries in which their clients operate. BIS Shrapnel provides market size and segmentation data, market shares, consumer attitudes and supplier reputation information, and regularly conducts both business-to-business and consumer research.

Over the company’s 46-year history, BIS Shrapnel has built up a strong level of expertise and unique methodologies for forecasting.

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Eucalyptus made Mussel Farms: Seafood of Galicia

Eucalyptus globulus: a noble wood from Galician planted forests (I)

Gustavo Iglesias Trabado
GIT Forestry Consulting SL - Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal - www.git-forestry.com - EUCALYPTOLOGICS

We have previously travelled the Eucalyptus cultivated forests of Galicia in Northern Spain to show you how the adopted Australian trees have yielded over 1500 million € to tree growers in the last cultivation cycle. And we have also seen these trees are the source of one of the best wood fibers in the world for papermaking, but that not everything is pulpwood when we talk Eucalyptus.

Today we will see one of the many examples of eucalypt timber plantations being the source of positive economic impacts on other industrial activities different from what is purely forestry, of positive social impacts on rural populations of both coastal and hinterland areas, and of positive environmental impacts linked to CO2 capture and storage. For the Galician case, we will see it is not a nonsense saying that without Eucalyptus, one of the finest sustainable Acquaculture and Seafood farming operations in the world, the Galician Mussel & Oyster industry, would not exist.

Fig. 1: Galician "Bateas" (Mussel & Oyster Farms) are built using plantation grown Eucalyptus globulus sawn timber: master beams, secondary beams plus mussel or oyster cultivation frameworks have been made of plantation grown Tasmanian Blue Gum solidwood for over 50 years. (Click image to enlarge)

EUCALYPTOLOGICS has recently toured the Galician World of Spanish Eucalyptus in the good company of Australian visitors. From Tasmania, and as part of their Eucalyptus World Trip, representatives of Forestry Tasmania, Britton Timbers and McKay Timber have been able to spot on site the whole process of Mussel Farm building, from eucalypt tree harvest to the final assembly of wooden structures at dockyard.

Fig. 2: Tasmanian & Galician sawmillers visiting a plantation grown Eucalyptus globulus mussel farm at its coastal dockyard: Manuel Sánchez Torrado's expertise as Master Naval Carpenter has greatly contributed to make a sustainable timber based acquaculture industry possible in Galicia. (Click image to enlarge).

Even if the story of Eucalyptus cultivation in Galicia spans for longer a time, it all started seriously some 65 years ago. A nearly treeless country had started to cultivate fast growing Australian trees as source of raw material for several future industrial lines. The Eucalyptus coastal rainforest of Spain started to grow, and soon was able to replenish the increasingly scarce local hardwood supply. No other tree than Eucalyptus globulus, so well adapted to the mild and rainy climates of the Rias Baixas estuaries, had ever grown so fast in Spain to produce long timber. "Paus Largos", as we say here in the Land's End.

By 1945, the first wooden raft was laid down in Galician waters. The target was cultivating shellfish for a thriving fish and seafood canning industry. As efficiently as possible. As cheaply as possible. With as easily available materials as possible. As you well can imagine, Tasmanian Blue Gum timber floats quite well. And, with some skill, E. globulus long timber can be transformed into long beams.

Fig. 3: Galician Batea (Mussel Farm Raft) at dockyard. Its wooden structure is 100% made of Eucalyptus globulus solidwood and assembled over +25 meter Long Beams. (Click image to enlarge)

Today, over 3,000 Galician plantation grown Eucalyptus wood made Mussel & Oyster Farms float in Spanish waters. Their existence provides over 10,000 direct jobs to rural Galician families, only accounting seafood farmers. Many more if we consider the timber cultivation and supply part of the equation. They are the solidwood base on which the production of over 250,000 tonnes per year of mussel and oyster takes place.

But, of course, the timber part of the story does not end up at the ocean. Eucalyptus globulus keeps being useful even after being soaked in a natural salty preservative for years. So, the sea gives back what it borrowed: reclaimed Eucalyptus Long Beams become building material. After serving their first purpose, the wonder trees keep generating jobs, added value, and a fantastic and unique organic material of natural beauty.

Fig. 4: The life cycle and CO2 storage lifetime of plantation grown Eucalyptus globulus timber used for mussel farm building ranks in the "well over 100 years" timespan in Galicia. Reclaimed wood is used for fine grade building in both "old and new" styles, either as structural timber beams or as unique visual treat. Fine carpentry expert examples, as Hijos de Vicente Suárez works, expand the possibilities for noble wood uses of Tasmanian Blue Gum timbers and the value adding process: from forest to ocean, from ocean to housing. (Click image to enlarge).

Same way as Eucalyptus virgin fibres are recycled as paper is recycled creating a long term pool of stored CO2, and hence being an useful tool in the fight against climate change, Eucalyptus globulus timber beams, after sustaining an environmentally friendly sea farming industry, are also recycled.

Each of these plantation grown eucalypt timber pieces contributes to slow down the harvest of native hardwood forests with high value for preservation in other areas of the world, which is a positive externality, and an example of positive environmental impact. Each beam contributes to more efficient energy saving processes for raw material production, as this wood is totally organic, and, as every type of wood, built by nature using solar energy. Each Galician mussel is a living proof of cultivated forests and oceans being capable of working together to generate sustainable products and services. Remember that each time you may read eucalypt plantations are not sustainable, or that the "foreign trees" cannot bur harm your local ecosystems.

Galician Eucalyptus Wood Built Mussel & Oyster Farms: How it is done

Fig. 5: Check this video depicting the "Ruta do Mexillón" (The Mussel Trip), from your favourite mussel gourmet dish to the Eucalyptus timber used at dockyards to build mussel & oyster farms in the Arousa Estuary. Courtesy of "Desde Galicia para el Mundo"

Eucalyptus, the Galician Way: Timber & Seafood

Fig. 6: Tasmanian & Galician Eucalyptus sawmillers enjoying a local seafood and "churrasco" barbeque in the coastal rainforests of Galicia, the "Tasmania of the North". Of course, firewood is also eucalypt wood. Galician Albariño plus Queimada were nice treats adding flavour to the Mussel of Galicia!

Acknowledgements

To Peter Volker (Forestry Tasmania), Glenn & Shawn Britton (Britton Timbers, Tasmania) and Tony Jaeger (McKay Timber, Tasmania) for stopping by in their discovery trip around the world after the Eucalyptus beyond Australia. To the Suárez siblings and their staff (Maderas Hijos de Vicente Suárez Blanco SL), Alfonso and his staff (Maderas Costiña SL) and Master Carpenter Manuel Sánchez and family (Astilleros Manuel Sanchez Torrado SL) for their hospitality and daily work at forest and sea. To Isabel Puentes (FEARMAGA - Galician Federation of Sawmillers and Timber Suppliers) and Juan Picos (Asociación Galega Monte - Industria) for their support and company during the Mussel Day. To the fishermen and seafood cultivators of Galicia, for making it possible. To the tree growers and silviculturalists of Galicia, for making it possible too. And, looking back to days past, let's not forget to thank Alfonso Ozores, Marquiss of Aranda and the House of Rubianes for thinking like a mussel. And let's not forget either to thank Rafael Areses, Forester and eucalypt planter extraordinaire, for thinking like a tree at the same time Navarro de Andrade did.

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Contact / subscribe to Eucalyptologics

Contact GIT Forestry Consulting - Eucalyptologics

GIT's Eucalyptology Topics

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© 2007-2010 Gustavo Iglesias Trabado. Please contact us if you want to use all or part of this text and photography elsewhere. We like to share, but we do not like rudeness.

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