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forestry

Research associate job opportunity in forest industry research

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A research associate position is available at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, at the University of Montana. The BBER is part of Montana State University which is a NARA member.

This position is responsible for and expected to achieve the following:

• Participates in state-level primary forest products industry censuses, including: developing facility lists, contacting facilities and administering questionnaires, entering and checking …more

Packing forest residues for transport

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Vertical blowing of forest residuals
Vertical blowing of forest residuals

Transporting a low value product like forest residuals from a timber harvest site to a processing facility represents a significant economic and logistical challenge for a wood to biofuel supply chain. One way to ensure that transport costs are as low as possible is to maximize the amount of wood residuals carried per trailer …more

New report on logging utilization in Idaho

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Front cover of report
Front cover of report

Logging utilization studies describe how trees are harvested in commercial operations and account for how the various tree parts are used. This information helps land managers evaluate their logging operations and can reveal utilization trends over time and within various regions.

Logging utilization data is particularly valuable to NARA researchers because it provides a basis used …more

Estimating nutrient removals under varying intensities of harvesting residue utilization

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By: Janna Loeppky, M.F. Candidate, Oregon State University

Nitrogen is the most abundant atmospheric element and a major nutrient required for plant and tree growth. The vast majority of nitrogen in forest soils and tree biomass is fixed from the atmosphere by soil micro‐organisms. Although the vast majority of nitrogen in most forest ecosystems is held in soil organic matter, some sites contain larger portions in live biomass and may therefore be susceptible to reductions in long‐term site productivity …more

NARA’s 2014 Cumulative Report is available online

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Webpage for NARA's 2nd Cumulative report
Webpage for NARA’s 2nd Cumulative report

NARA’s second Cumulative Report is now available online. This report describes research efforts and activities conducted between April 2013 through March 2014.

You can view the NARA Cumulative Report: April 2013-March 2014 here.

Progress reports are sectioned within the Project’s five goals: Sustainable Biojet, Value Lignin Co-Products, Rural …more

Forest residues, machines and soil: how do they mix?

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Photo courtesy of Ponsse
Photo courtesy of Ponsse

Transporting the forest residues located in slash piles out of the woods requires vehicles and equipment to roll and vibrate over bare ground.  This activity can cause soil compaction and disturbance, which can lead to adverse soil erosion and limit plant growth.

Numerous studies and harvesting policies have been initiated to lessen the impact of soil …more

Smart tools to measure slash pile volumes

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slash pile copy

A woodland owner has a choice of time tested measuring techniques to predict how much lumber can be produced from trees. Accurate volume estimates can help forest managers plan for the number and type of trees to harvest and the appropriate workforce and equipment needed.

NARA provides technical assistance to an emerging industry that, instead of using the bole wood (trunk) for lumber, uses the wood …more

Estimating Forest Biomass

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Estimating Tree Biomass, Carbon, and Nitrogen... copy 2

 

Developing improved tools and methods used to estimate the amount of residual biomass potential contained in a softwood plantation or forest is a key task for the NARA project. The amount of forest residues available affects how much biojet fuel and co-products are produced, the location sites for depots and conversion plants and the overall sustainability of the residual wood to …more

Characterizing Various Feedstocks

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NARA Woody Forest Feedstocks-Total Polysaccharides. Image created by Gevan Marrs, Weyerhaeuser
NARA Woody Forest Feedstocks-Total Polysaccharides. Figure created by Gevan Marrs, Weyerhaeuser

Gevan Marrs at Weyerhaeuser generated this above figure. Packed with useful information, it is often used in NARA presentations. The purpose of this article is to define elements in the figure and provide some analysis. A bulk of the information presented in …more