Given the disastrous and irresponsible deforestation occurring in South America, one might assume that North America’s hardwood forests are similarly harvested unsustainably. However, there are many characteristics of the US Hardwood Forest that make it ideal at providing high-value lumber products in a sustainable fashion, while sequestering carbon at the same time.
While environmentalists take hardened stances regarding logging and forest management, the facts are overwhelmingly in favor of the North American forest-products industry.
Hardwood trees are sustainable, biodegradable and renewable.
The North American Forest Continues Growing
Hardwood Timber in North America is highly-sustainable.
The following graphs illustrate that timber volume has increased substantially since the earliest data collection What’s better, is that net growth, which equals estimated volume less the amount harvested, has steadily increased over the last 50 to 60 years.
Sustainability Of U.S. Hardwood Forests
U.S. hardwood forests are abundant, growing in both land area and volume, and are highly sustainable. This is partly due to the relatively small average holding of timber, with 80% of timber land in private hands. With about 10 million landowners, timber harvests generally occur once per landowner’s lifetime. Each year, hardwood volume increases by about 630 million board feet, even after accounting for harvests, fires, storms, and insect losses. This makes North American hardwood forests not only abundant but also sustainable, providing a clear environmental advantage over processed materials like plastic, concrete, and steel.
Clean And Renewable Timber
Hardwood timber is self-replicating, with trees planted at a 6:1 ratio to those harvested, resulting in about 2.6 million new acres of plantings annually. This sustainable model does not require strict management or active plantings, unlike softwood industries. They selectively harvest hardwood forests, focusing on mature trees at their peak for carbon sequestration, ensuring minimal disruption to the forest floor and canopy. This process improves air quality by producing oxygen and removing excess carbon dioxide.By converting wood into building products, they sequester carbon long-term, and U.S. forests remove greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of about 139 million cars.
Hardwood: A Sustainable Building Material
Wood, being a biological and renewable resource, offers significant environmental advantages over concrete and steel. Compared to these materials, wood produces less solid waste, emits fewer greenhouse gases, creates fewer pollutants, and uses fewer resources. It also has lower production and disposal costs, making it a more eco-friendly choice for building materials. U.S. hardwood forests, through effective management, ensure long-term viability, providing a steady supply of green building materials. The joint efforts of the forest industry and government agencies have made it clear that U.S. hardwood forests will continue to be a sustainable resource for generations to come.