UBC Undergraduate Research

Potential international market for mountain pine beetle killed trees Heo, Jay

Abstract

The utilization of mountain pine beetle (MPB) killed wood and the diversification of the global trading market have been issues in the British Columbia’s forest industry. Currently, almost half of the lodgepole pines in BC are attacked by MPB. The infestation of lodgpole pines is not only losing economic values but also damaging ecosystems and environments. MPB killed wood appears as blue stain in sapwood. However, the wood remains unaffected on the mechanical property, so it can be still used for producing many types of value-added products. The major challenges of using MPB killed wood are the extreme dryness, short shelf life, and limited markets. The Canada’s forest industry has relied heavily on the U.S. market. The reliance of one country has shown serious problems by experiencing the recent global economic crisis. China’s forest industry has become the most important client to the BC’s forest industry by offsetting the decreased exports to U.S. Many markets have been examined to discover the potential markets for the MPB killed wood products. As a result, there should be markets specially aimed to utilize the MPB killed wood. However, there are uncertainties in optimizing processing wood products from MPB-killed wood and the long term fibre supply.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International