Dictionary Definition
pulpwood n : softwood used to make paper
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Extensive Definition
Pulpwood refers to timber grown with the principal
purpose of making wood pulp for
paper production. However,
pulpwood is also used as the raw material for some wood products,
such as oriented
strand board (OSB), and there is an increasing demand for
pulpwood as a source of 'green energy' by the bio-energy
sector. Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for
16% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and
third- and more generation forests account for the balance.
Reforestation
is practiced in most areas, so trees are a renewable
resource.
In the logging of mixed forest stands, the better
trees are usually used for
sawlogs for lumber
production, while the inferior trees and components are harvested
for pulpwood production. Pulpwood usually derives from four types
of woody materials in a mixed logging operation. First are
open-grown trees, that are heavily branched low on the trunk, and
so make poor sawlogs. Second are dead or diseased trees. Third are
tops cut from trees harvested for sawlogs (branches are rarely used
since they contain little useable wood after the bark has been
removed). And fourth are trees too small to harvest for
sawlogs.
pulpwood in Swedish: Massaved
pulpwood in Vietnamese: Bột
giấy