Published Date
Sustainability of Construction Materials 2009, Pages31–54,doi:10.1533/9781845695842.31
Author
M. Asif
Abstract:
Owing to its unique characteristics, wood has historically been a valuable and useful natural resource. It is also one of the most important construction materials mankind has ever come across. Wood is at the heart of modern construction owing to its versatility, abundance in nature and environmental friendliness. It comes in thousands of types and has a remarkably diverse range of applications. This chapter discusses the basic features of wood, i.e. chemical composition, growth and structure. Various aspects of wood, crucial to its role as a construction material – i.e. seasoning, preservation and repair – have also been highlighted. The status of wood as a sustainable construction material has been reflected upon with regard to different features such as environmental friendliness, durability, waste disposal and recycling. Towards the end of the chapter, bamboo, a family member of wood, has been discussed in detail in terms of its structure and properties, applications and sustainability.
Key words
timber
wood
bamboo
sustainability
softwood
hardwood
seasoning
composition
durability
preservation
recycling
engineered wood
Table 2.1
Table 2.1.
Table 2.2
Table 2.2.
Table 2.3
Table 2.3.2.1.2.2.
Table 2.4
Table 2.4.
Table 2.5
Table 2.5.
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Published Date
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology December 2016, Vol.235:120–128,doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2016.10.003 Author
Mingli Wan a,b,c
Wan Yang c,d
Lujun Liu a,b
Jun Wang a,b,,
aDepartment of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
bState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
cGeology and Geophysics Program, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
dKey Laboratory of Petroleum Resources Research, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Received 9 April 2016. Revised 30 August 2016. Accepted 10 October 2016. Available online 11 October 2016.
Highlights
•
White-pocket rot is firstly recorded in Permian fossil wood from the Angara Flora.
•
Coprolites and borings in the fossil wood suggest arthropod-plant interactions.
•
Permian terrestrial ecosystems in mid-latitude northeastern Pangea are complex.
Abstract Several lines of evidence of plant-arthropod and plant-fungus interactions are documented from the Wuchiapingian Wutonggou low-order cycle (approximate equivalent to the Wutonggou Formation) in Tarlong valley, southern Bogda Mountains, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. Fossil wood,Septomedullopitys szeiWan, Yang et Wang, contains differentially-damaged areas. Spindle-shaped pockets in the fossil wood occurring in the secondary xylem are commonly free of organic remains. They are comparable in appearance to modern white-pocket rot caused by fungi. The tracheid walls around the decomposed areas are degraded from the middle lamellae to outer layers. Abundant branching and septate fungal hyphae in the decayed areas, ray parenchyma and tracheid lumina indicate that fungi are responsible for the wood decay. These fungi are partially regarded as basidiomycetes because of the occurrence of clamp connections. According to the characteristic damages they caused to the host, ascomycetes are also viable candidates of the fungi because large parts of hyphae are without certain clamp connections. The other damaged excavations are branched and maze-like borings and galleries, which are filled with abundant fungal hyphae, cellular debris and spheroidal to ovoidal, dark-colored coprolites, ranging from 26 to 128 μm in diameter. The size, shape, and surface texture of these coprolites indicates that the coprolites are the feces of ancient oribatid mites. The fungal hyphae, coprolites, and degraded excavations in the pith of the late Permian wood suggest that wood-rotting and -boring were not limited to the xylem. Keywords
Corresponding author at: Department of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
Published Date
Composites Part B: Engineering April 2013, Vol.47:308–313,doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.11.022 Author
Alireza Ashori a,,
Hamed Matini Behzad b
Asghar Tarmian b
aDepartment of Chemical Technologies, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), P.O. Box 15815-3538, Tehran, Iran
bDepartment of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
Received 9 August 2012. Revised 28 October 2012. Accepted 29 November 2012. Available online 8 December 2012.
Abstract The main objective of this study was to determine the durability of chemical preservatives treated wood flour/high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites to white-rot fungus (Coriolus versicolor). Specimens, containing treated and untreated poplar wood flour (PF, 60%), were mixed with HDPE (38%) as polymer matrix and maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE, 2 wt.%) as coupling agent. Two fungicide materials, namely 3-iodo-2-propynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 wt.%) and 2 thiazol-4-yl-1H-benzoimidazole (TBZ, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 wt.%) were used in preparation of wood plastic composites (WPCs). Then, treated and untreated composites were exposed to the fungal decay for 12 weeks according to the European Union (EN) 113 standard. Mechanical and physical properties of the composites were evaluated before and after fungal incubation. The experimental results indicated that treated composites were more resistant to decay, with strength losses significantly lower than the untreated (control) sample. Physical properties in terms of water absorption and thickness swelling were improved by the incorporation of fungicide agents, but no significant differences were observed between the treaded samples. Weight losses for the various treated composites ranged from 1.1% to 4.5%. In addition, IPBC treated samples showed slightly lower weight loss compared with the treated composites with TBZ. The highest weight loss corresponds to the control. Accordingly, IPBC and TBZ can be effectively used as preservatives for WPC. However, IPBC showed superior results compared to the TBZ and it is recommended for the WPCs preservation. Keywords
Abstract: The drier parts of Central Kenya are characterised by poor crop harvest due to unpredictable, unreliable and poor rainfall distribution patterns. The field experiment was laid out in Partially Balanced Incomplete Block Design (PBIBD) with 36 treatments replicated three times. The treatments of tied ridges and contour furrows under sorghum alone and intercrop plus external soil amendment of 40 kg P/ha + 20 kg N/ha + manure 2.5 t/ha had the highest grain yield of 3.1 t/ha. The soil fertility levels differed significantly from one another (p = 0.0001) in terms of sorghum grain yield. Generally, all experiment controls had the lowest grain yields as low as 0.3 t/ha to 0.5 t/ha. Therefore, integration of minimal organic and inorganic inputs under various water harvesting technologies could be considered as an alternative food security initiative towards climate smart agriculture for climate change mitigation in drought-prone areas of Central Kenya.
Abstract: Plantation sector plays a vital role in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in Sri Lanka. This study constructed a Plantation Sector Index (PSI) for comparing the performance of the sector during war and post-war periods. Results indicated a significant decline in PSI during war period and a growth in post-war period. Further, the comparison of PSI with All Share Price Index (ASPI) of CSE showed PSI's defensive stock behaviour during the two periods. Finally, the study employed best-fitted ARIMA (1,1,0) model and seasonal ARIMA (0,1,1) × (0,1,1)30 model of post-war period to forecast PSI compared to Holt-Winters method. Holt-Winters method provided a significantly best prediction for PSI during post-war period with the level (α = 0.2), trend (β = 0.2) and the seasonal (γ = 0.2) components under 95% confidence interval. Therefore, PSI would be recommended for financial analyses, and investment decision making in plantation sector.
Abstract: Most of the short rotation energy coppices used in Northern and Central Europe may be of limited value under Mediterranean climates. Abandoned acacia stands with an invasive behaviour, of environmental concern in many Mediterranean countries, may perform better as biomass producers under summer drought than those coppices. Seedlings of invasive Acacia dealbata, A. melanoxylon and A. pycnantha were planted to test for early growth performance under rain-fed and irrigated conditions. Rooted cuttings of an E. globulus clone were also established as a reference for biomass production. Plants were harvested after one year, sorted by biomass components and oven-dried. Above-ground dry weight was calculated on an area basis, accounting for survival. A. dealbata and A. melanoxylon showed low survival and biomass production, even irrigated, whereas A. pycnantha had better survival and growth performance than eucalypt, even in rain-fed plots, suggesting potential for the harvest of this drought-adapted species as a biomass source.
