Tree Growth, Forest Management, and Their Implications for Wood Quality

Oregon State University • University of Idaho • Washington State University Wood has long served as one of our most versatile and heavily used raw materials. From it we derive solid wood for structural and ornamental applications, composite products in the forms of panels and beams, numerous paper products, chemicals, fuel—the list could go on and on. Foresters have worked for many years to increase wood yield from forests, while manufacturers have refined their techniques and become increasingly efficient in turning wood into products. To a large extent, however, each group has worked toward its objectives without understanding the needs and/or constraints of the other.