Timber Trade
The timber trade is contributing to the replanting of forests in the British Isles. Timber and wood are renewable resources and forests are being re-established as the demand for timber continues to grow. It is important to remember that many forests are created by man in order to harvest the timber as a crop, in the same way as we harvest wheat or potatoes. The felling of these trees is not a bad thing, as long as others are planted in their place. Timber has many advantages over other building materials. As well as being a renewable and sustainable product, it is recyclable, waste efficient, biodegradable and non-toxic. It is also particularly energy efficient in use and can therefore play an important part in the battle against global warming.
Here are some facts about the worldwide timber trade:
- European woods grow at a rate of 4 cubic metres per second!
- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that 95% of deforestation is not caused by the worldwide forestry and timber industry but through clearing land for towns and farms.
- Over half of the timber cut worldwide is burnt as fuel and only 34% goes for sawn timber and building materials.
- Britain imports 85% of the timber that it needs. The timber is mainly imported from a 'Top Ten' of countries, which have organised and regulated forest management programmes.
- In 1995, Britain imported the largest amount of timber that it needed from Sweden.
- Trees cover two thirds of Sweden.
- Sweden has a total supply base of more than 2,800 million cubic metres of timber. This grows at a rate of 90 million cubic metres each year. Only 57 million cubic metres are cut each year.
- Britain's forest cover is 10% of the total land surface area. This is double what it was in 1990 and it is hoped that the amount will increase to 15% in the near future.
- The United States of America plants around 1.7 billion trees each year.
- Indonesia has developed "robot" seed planters. Three robots on an assembly line with one human helper can create millions of tree seedlings each year.
- In the process of growing 2kg of wood, a tree absorbs 55kg of carbon dioxide and gives off 40kg of oxygen.
- In one year, an average tree absorbs 9.1kg of carbon dioxide (the amount given off by a car traveling for 18,300 kilometres) and gives out enough oxygen for a family of four to breathe for a year.
- Forests, woodlands and even monoculture (growing one species of tree) plantations provide important habitats for many different plants and animals.
