Forests, Wood and Carbon

Content

Students on this course will learn about global carbon sources and sinks and the role of forests in the carbon cycle. This course introduces students to the different uses of forests and the raw material flows in the bioeconomy, as well as the potential of wood products in carbon storage. The general rules of life-cycle analysis are introduced, including selected work phases, such as calculating carbon handprint in the case of wood.

Students are introduced to the basic principles of sustainable forestry and circular bioeconomy, with wood as an example. The basic structure of wood is presented with links to its properties such as appearance, dimensional stability, and strength. Students will learn about the mechanical properties of wood as well its dimensional stability and moisture interaction at the cell-level. Students will become familiar with the most common long-lived wood products that are used in various applications in the built environment.

Learning outcomes

After this course students:

•     are able to describe the role of forests in the carbon cycle and the potential of wood products as carbon storage
•     are able to differentiate the main forest operation methods and material flows in the forest bioeconomy
•     are able to list the common work phases of life-cycle analysis
•     know how to calculate carbon handprint in the case of wood
•     know the basic macro-level structure of wood and are able to describe the basics of wood grain orientation
•     are able to describe how moisture influences wood dimensional changes and strength and are able to explain these phenomena based on cell-level interaction
•     know the influence of grain angle, knots and other natural features of wood on its movement, appearance, and mechanical properties
•     are able to describe the most common wood products and their typical applications