As disturbances can destabilize the wood market, we conducted a survey among 44 small, medium and large sawmills in Switzerland as a first step to understand how the sawmills absorb unplanned timber volumes. The running of the daily business and the storage capacity were the most impacted after an...

The objective of this paper is to propose a simple and robust additive solution to improve the water-resistance of clay materials by revisiting a traditional recipe of vernacular construction. The influence of the combination of oak tannin with iron chloride on the properties of clay materials in...

The addition of inorganic filler material in medium density fiberboard (MDF) and the effect on material properties as a function of particle size was examined. Medium density fiberboard was manufactured in a laboratory scale environment to a target raw density of 750 kgm^-3. Wood fibers were...

The illegal timber trade is not only an ecological problem, but also an economic and social problem. It can be combated using a variety of methods. One of these is the enactment of state legal norms. With the Timber Trade Ordinance, which will come into force in January 2022, the Swiss legislator...

A conceptual framework was developed to quantify the ef- fects of ecological and economic constraints on the spatio-temporal availabilities of forest energy wood in Switzer- land. Forest energy wood availabilities were simulated over a 40-year period for three forest management scenarios and two...

Cable-based technologies are the backbone of timber harvesting on steep slopes. To simplify the cable road design process, the QGIS plugin Seilaplan was recently developed. Seilaplan is tailored for Central European cable yarder technology, with standing skylines. To analyze and predict the load...

When assessing forest road conditions, information about waterlogged areas on gravel roads brings high practical value when used as an indicator for road wear. Around these perimeters, lowered binding forces of the construction material reduce the stability of the road, which induces accelerated...

Despite relatively high road density in the forests of Switzerland, a large percentage of that road network does not fulfill best practice requirements. Before upgrading or rebuilding the road network, harvesting planners must first determine which areas have insufficient access. Traditional...

This guide highlights the plant health import regulations which apply to the landing of wood, wood products and bark from countries outside the European Union (EU). This guide sets out the legal requirements which have to be met when importing controlled forestry material from non-EU countries into ...

In Switzerland, the advantages of timber buildings for the climate are broadly discussed. In the following paper, a comparative sustainability assessment of four building alternatives is presented. Especially the contribution of implementing Swiss timber versus the implementation of imported timber ...