From forest to building
Enhancing the use of lower grade wood for climate-responsive construction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19587309 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paola Ovando (0000-0001-6915-5826, National Research Council, corresponding author), S Marcelo Olivera (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, corresponding author), Alejandro Rodea-Chavez (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana), Lucero García-Franco (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana), Christopher L Heard, Christopher Heard (0000-0003-2207-0512, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana), Daniel Rozas-Vásquez (0000-0002-6730-6114, Universidad Católica de Temuco) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Pages | 101022 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Trees Forests and People (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2666-7193 • E-ISSN: 2666-7193 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101022 |
| OpenAlex | W4414419687 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 38 |
Shifting timber to construction boosts its climate mitigation potential. • Low-grade timber use stores more carbon by extending product lifespan. • Strategies must reflect local growth rates, rotation, and practices. • Innovative regional uses of low-grade wood are key for climate benefits. • Research should expand uses of low-grade wood and optimise supply chains. The construction sector, a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, offers considerable potential for climate change mitigation through the substitution of traditional building materials with timber. While engineered wood products like cross-laminated timber and glulam have gained attention for structural applications, the use of lower-grade wood and industrial residues for durable, non-structural construction elements remain underexplored. This study evaluates the opportunities and challenges of incorporating low-grade wood into construction, specifically assessing potential climate benefits, mapping material flows along the wood value chain, and modelling carbon storage dynamics in products and by-products over a 100-year horizon, all based on secondary information sources. Using case studies from Mexico, Spain, and Chile, we analyse timber use scenarios that integrate lower-grade wood into construction materials. Results show that redirecting lower-grade wood into construction can increase carbon storage in products by 2% to 35%, depending on species growth rates, rotation lengths, sawmill efficiency, and timber quality. Yet, quality constraints and logistical barriers limit large-scale adoption. Unlocking this potential will require improved forest management, advanced processing technologies, and supportive regulatory frameworks. The findings demonstrate that both structural and non-structural applications can extend the lifecycle of wood and amplify its climate benefit, while regional differences in species growth, rotation lengths, and timber quality highlight the need for context-specific strategies to realise this potential
Climate change · Climate change mitigation · Engineered wood · Forest product · Global warming · Greenhouse gas · Wood processing · Forest ecology and management · Tree-ring climate responses · Wood Treatment and Properties
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| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |