Hardwood is the generally accepted term for the timber of broadleaved trees as opposed to softwood, which refers to conifers. It is not strictly accurate as some conifers such as yew are harder than many broadleaves including poplar and lime. But generally broadleaves are harder and have a higher wood density than conifers.
The forester will point to other differences. Conifers grow straighter and faster than broadleaves as well as being less demanding on soil nutrients. They are easier to manage and provide a return on investment within the life of most forest owners.
Despite this, an increasing number of woodland owners in Ireland have an attachment to broadleaves and plant them. Profit is rarely the main objective when planting hardwoods. Aesthetics, heritage, landscape enhancement and biodiversity are cited by growers as the non-wood reasons for planting broadleaves. Woodworkers extol the desirable timber characteristics of many hardwoods, which make them suitable for furniture, joinery, panelling, flooring, veneers, craft and sports goods.
Ireland is now a net exporter of home-grown softwoods, but we rely on imports of:
Temperate hardwoods from European countries such as France and Germany and the eastern states of the USA, especially for oak, beech, walnut and ash.Tropical hardwoods from Brazil, Ghana, Tanzania, Indonesia and Malaysia, which supply obeche, sapele, iroko, mahogany and a wide range of specialist timbers.Little more than 5% of our forests were planted with broadleaves for most of the last century, so our reliance on hardwood imports is likely to continue. However, there has been a dramatic increase in broadleaf planting over the past 20 years, which reached 38% of all planting in 2008. While these will produce thinnings between 20 and 40 years’ time, species such as beech and oak are unlikely to reach final harvest until at least 100 years.
It is in Ireland’s long-term interests to reduce our reliance on imported hardwoods, especially from the rainforest regions, as the sustainability of some tropical forests is questionable due to over-cutting and underdeveloped or non-existent reforestation programmes.
Tropical hardwoods can be replaced by home-grown broadleaves over time and paradoxically by softwoods or engineered softwood products. For example, Accoya and Medite Tricoya produced by Coillte Panel Products in Ireland can “match and exceed the qualities of the best tropical hardwoods and is ideally suited for exterior use”, according to a company spokesperson.
The May 27 conference in Enfield, entitled “What shall we do with our Hardwoods?”, addresses the management and marketing challenges for home-grown hardwoods and what species to promote.
Currently, we plant a wide range with varying degrees of success, including native oak, ash, birch, alder and cherry, along with non-native but naturalised species such as sycamore, beech, and Spanish (or sweet) chestnut.
This is the first major conference to examine a wide range of issues relating to hardwoods and includes presentations that will interest woodland owners, producer groups, timber specifiers, researchers, sawmillers and wood workers.
John Redmond of the Forest Service will provide an assessment of Ireland’s broadleaved forest inventory by area and species, while Dr Gerry Douglas of Teagasc will discuss broadleaves selected for the Irish tree improvement programme.
Planting the right trees in the right places and how to manage them will be discussed by Dr Ian Short, Teagasc.
William Bunbury, Bunbury Boards and Lisnavagh Estate, will discuss adding value to hardwoods from a sawmill and design perspective.
Potential markets for home-grown hardwoods will be featured, while the wood scientist’s view on home-grown hardwoods that have the potential to replace imports will be discussed by Gordon Knaggs of Gordon Knaggs & Associates and Fellow of the Institute of Wood Science.
There is an increasing awareness by architects and designers of the unique characteristics of hardwoods. However, these will continue to use imports until they can be assured of quality, which begins in the forest and continues throughout the wood chain. Users and specifiers will also demand continuity of supply and high specifications such as correct moisture content, grade, finish and treatment where necessary.
Ireland’s forest owners, researchers and timber processors have addressed most of these issues in softwood production, but we are only beginning the journey in relation to hardwoods. How far we have to go will be outlined in Enfield on Wednesday week.
Registration fee is €70 and includes morning coffee, refreshments, lunch and conference booklet. Cheques to the Society of Irish Foresters, Glenealy, Co Wicklow. Email sif@eircom.net or call 086-258 2240 for further information.
It would be difficult to find a more sustainable enterprise than the Lisnavagh Timber Project, near Rathvilly, in Co Carlow. Run by William Bunbury, Lisnavagh estate provides most of the timber for his sawmill and the production of the now famous Bunbury Boards.
The Bunbury Board range includes carving, chopping, soda bread, and pizza boards as well as caddies, breadboxes, magnetic knife holders and coasters.
Described by the Irish Design Shop as “affordable gifts as well as functional and beautiful kitchen utensils”, these are individually hand crafted and are now sold around the world.
But the Bunbury range is just one project in the Lisnavagh estate which has an area of 250ha. Approximately 170ha is farmed, while 80ha of woodland is thinned to provide hardwoods which are processed in the estate’s busy sawmill.
The Lisnavagh Timber Project was established in 2001, a year after William and his wife Emily returned to manage the estate with a view to creating a financially sustainable life and business. While the project is relatively new, William traces Lisnavagh woodland and farm management back to the late 17th century.
Emily manages the house which is now a successful wedding venue. In common with the project’s theme of sustainability, the house is heated by an efficient wood chip boiler which has significantly reduced energy costs.
The woodland project includes sawing, kiln and air drying and marketing home-grown oak, beech and other hardwoods as well as incorporating a woodland conservation programme with mainly native broadleaves.
He believes that the hallmark of the project is traceability. The trees he harvests in his own estate or other woodlands are carefully catalogued and this information is carried through to the sawn timber and to each individual Bunbury Board. Apart from the quality of design, the attraction of this approach guarantees that every piece can be traced back to its place of origin.
The whole project is built around traceability, which is at the core of sustainable forest management, and sustainable timber processing and manufacturing.
William will discuss the Lisnavagh Timber Project at the hardwood conference in Enfield on May 27 as well as displaying the full range of Bunbury Boards.
Hardwood is the generally accepted term for the timber of broadleaved trees as opposed to softwood, which refers to conifers. It is not strictly accurate as some conifers such as yew are harder than many broadleaves including poplar and lime. But generally broadleaves are harder and have a higher wood density than conifers.
The forester will point to other differences. Conifers grow straighter and faster than broadleaves as well as being less demanding on soil nutrients. They are easier to manage and provide a return on investment within the life of most forest owners.
Despite this, an increasing number of woodland owners in Ireland have an attachment to broadleaves and plant them. Profit is rarely the main objective when planting hardwoods. Aesthetics, heritage, landscape enhancement and biodiversity are cited by growers as the non-wood reasons for planting broadleaves. Woodworkers extol the desirable timber characteristics of many hardwoods, which make them suitable for furniture, joinery, panelling, flooring, veneers, craft and sports goods.
Ireland is now a net exporter of home-grown softwoods, but we rely on imports of:
Temperate hardwoods from European countries such as France and Germany and the eastern states of the USA, especially for oak, beech, walnut and ash.Tropical hardwoods from Brazil, Ghana, Tanzania, Indonesia and Malaysia, which supply obeche, sapele, iroko, mahogany and a wide range of specialist timbers.Little more than 5% of our forests were planted with broadleaves for most of the last century, so our reliance on hardwood imports is likely to continue. However, there has been a dramatic increase in broadleaf planting over the past 20 years, which reached 38% of all planting in 2008. While these will produce thinnings between 20 and 40 years’ time, species such as beech and oak are unlikely to reach final harvest until at least 100 years.
It is in Ireland’s long-term interests to reduce our reliance on imported hardwoods, especially from the rainforest regions, as the sustainability of some tropical forests is questionable due to over-cutting and underdeveloped or non-existent reforestation programmes.
Tropical hardwoods can be replaced by home-grown broadleaves over time and paradoxically by softwoods or engineered softwood products. For example, Accoya and Medite Tricoya produced by Coillte Panel Products in Ireland can “match and exceed the qualities of the best tropical hardwoods and is ideally suited for exterior use”, according to a company spokesperson.
The May 27 conference in Enfield, entitled “What shall we do with our Hardwoods?”, addresses the management and marketing challenges for home-grown hardwoods and what species to promote.
Currently, we plant a wide range with varying degrees of success, including native oak, ash, birch, alder and cherry, along with non-native but naturalised species such as sycamore, beech, and Spanish (or sweet) chestnut.
This is the first major conference to examine a wide range of issues relating to hardwoods and includes presentations that will interest woodland owners, producer groups, timber specifiers, researchers, sawmillers and wood workers.
John Redmond of the Forest Service will provide an assessment of Ireland’s broadleaved forest inventory by area and species, while Dr Gerry Douglas of Teagasc will discuss broadleaves selected for the Irish tree improvement programme.
Planting the right trees in the right places and how to manage them will be discussed by Dr Ian Short, Teagasc.
William Bunbury, Bunbury Boards and Lisnavagh Estate, will discuss adding value to hardwoods from a sawmill and design perspective.
Potential markets for home-grown hardwoods will be featured, while the wood scientist’s view on home-grown hardwoods that have the potential to replace imports will be discussed by Gordon Knaggs of Gordon Knaggs & Associates and Fellow of the Institute of Wood Science.
There is an increasing awareness by architects and designers of the unique characteristics of hardwoods. However, these will continue to use imports until they can be assured of quality, which begins in the forest and continues throughout the wood chain. Users and specifiers will also demand continuity of supply and high specifications such as correct moisture content, grade, finish and treatment where necessary.
Ireland’s forest owners, researchers and timber processors have addressed most of these issues in softwood production, but we are only beginning the journey in relation to hardwoods. How far we have to go will be outlined in Enfield on Wednesday week.
Registration fee is €70 and includes morning coffee, refreshments, lunch and conference booklet. Cheques to the Society of Irish Foresters, Glenealy, Co Wicklow. Email sif@eircom.net or call 086-258 2240 for further information.
It would be difficult to find a more sustainable enterprise than the Lisnavagh Timber Project, near Rathvilly, in Co Carlow. Run by William Bunbury, Lisnavagh estate provides most of the timber for his sawmill and the production of the now famous Bunbury Boards.
The Bunbury Board range includes carving, chopping, soda bread, and pizza boards as well as caddies, breadboxes, magnetic knife holders and coasters.
Described by the Irish Design Shop as “affordable gifts as well as functional and beautiful kitchen utensils”, these are individually hand crafted and are now sold around the world.
But the Bunbury range is just one project in the Lisnavagh estate which has an area of 250ha. Approximately 170ha is farmed, while 80ha of woodland is thinned to provide hardwoods which are processed in the estate’s busy sawmill.
The Lisnavagh Timber Project was established in 2001, a year after William and his wife Emily returned to manage the estate with a view to creating a financially sustainable life and business. While the project is relatively new, William traces Lisnavagh woodland and farm management back to the late 17th century.
Emily manages the house which is now a successful wedding venue. In common with the project’s theme of sustainability, the house is heated by an efficient wood chip boiler which has significantly reduced energy costs.
The woodland project includes sawing, kiln and air drying and marketing home-grown oak, beech and other hardwoods as well as incorporating a woodland conservation programme with mainly native broadleaves.
He believes that the hallmark of the project is traceability. The trees he harvests in his own estate or other woodlands are carefully catalogued and this information is carried through to the sawn timber and to each individual Bunbury Board. Apart from the quality of design, the attraction of this approach guarantees that every piece can be traced back to its place of origin.
The whole project is built around traceability, which is at the core of sustainable forest management, and sustainable timber processing and manufacturing.
William will discuss the Lisnavagh Timber Project at the hardwood conference in Enfield on May 27 as well as displaying the full range of Bunbury Boards.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: