Reports
Research shows terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can accurately estimate timber value and carbon content in woodlands enabling smarter woodland management and improved carbon accounting
Continue Reading Estimating timber value and carbon in complex woodlands using laser scanning
Unlocking climate, economic and social value through afforestation, sustainable forest management and circular wood use
A report summarising Home-Grown Homes research undertaken by Woodknowledge Wales, the BioComposites Centre and the ASBP that seeks to redefine the role of timber and other biogenic materials in construction
Continue Reading Using Wood in Construction as a significant Greenhouse Gas Removal Mechanism
New consolidation and recommendations report and Minecraft-based learning tool explore how education can support forest and timber careers
New report explores how the National Forest for Wales can boost timber supply for construction by supporting sawmills and sustainable woodland management practices
Continue Reading Opportunities for More High Value Timber from the National Forest
This report explores how woodland creation and timber use in Wales can enhance ecosystem services, supporting climate goals, rural economies and community wellbeing
Continue Reading The Ecosystem Services Impacts of Woodland Creation and Timber Products
Forestry and timber industries face a critical skills crisis. This report explores bold, collaborative action to regenerate careers, communities, and climate resilience across Wales
It all sounded so straight forward: Bring some interested joinery businesses together, agree a joint window specification based on the type of windows they currently manufacture to PAS24 standard, define protocols and processes, then get certification. Done. From the outset, we knew it would be more complex than that, of course. There are the technical…
The decision to invest in an afforestation project with the primary aim of producing timber may involve many personal and environmental factors alongside financial considerations. Adoption of a forestry enterprise within a farming unit represents a change in land use and a long-term investment of land, labour and resources. Financial evaluation provides a structured and…
What is the zero carbon timber housing solution for Wales? This document proposes a range of timber build solutions. Results are based on the analysis of an appropriate and future proofed definition for ‘zero carbon’, followed by design and calculation to develop an understanding of the quantifiable factors of embodied and operational carbon. Using a…
Continue Reading Zero Carbon Homes—Zero Carbon Timber Solutions for Wales
Wales is not a forest nation. Wales is a sheep, beef and dairy nation. Wales is a steel nation. Like many nations, Wales is the economic country it is, not by political design but largely because of historical accident. And there has never been a better time or more reason to change. We have left…
Continue Reading 5 Essential Strategies for an Emerging Forest Nation
Despite wide recognition of their value, plantation forests are critically misunderstood and undervalued in Wales. Plantation forests comprise around 7% of the planet’s forest area whilst sustainably supplying over 50% of industrial roundwood. This report looks at myths and tropes around home-grown timber and considers research results from wood science and socio-economic aspects across planting,…
Continue Reading The role of our own conifer forests for building a sustainable society in Wales
What might a business plan for the supply of home-grown timber to the Welsh housing sector look like, if it is to be closely integrated with the ownership and management of the timber resource in Wales? Additional capacity in the sector has been identified in three key areas: secondary processing capacity; in undermanaged forestry and…
Continue Reading More and Better Home-Grown Timber—The role for a consolidator
From the TV presenters of Countryfile to the ever-escalating claims of political parties in the last UK elections, it seems everyone wants to plant more trees. Reasons vary from carbon capture, amenity, and biodiversity to production of usable timber, as do levels of ambition. Amongst the most widely quoted targets, The Committee on Climate Change…
Why would it be beneficial for Welsh society to build a wood economy? The ‘Serious about Green?’ report takes a closer look and analyses the economic and social parameters. The report is authored by the team at Foundational Economy Research, led by Karel Williams. It brings together the Woodknowledge Wales forest industries agenda with foundational…
Continue Reading Serious About Green?—Building a Welsh wood economy through co-ordination
The future building stock is the most effective and most immediate opportunity for carbon reduction and long-term carbon storage. By creating a new economic model for monetising the carbon reduction and storage capacity of the future building stock, the use and specification of low-carbon and carbon-storing materials could be incentivised. Woodknowledge Wales have been working…
New woodland creation is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing carbon emissions and offsetting our nation’s carbon footprint. The combination of an undersupply of our own timber in Wales and the ambitions of Wales and the Welsh Government to create new woodlands means that an organisation interested in creating new woodlands can play…
How to reduce embodied carbon in social housing developments? This article highlights key questions and answers for strategic leadership teams.
