Preconditions and opportunities for scots pine harvested in thinnings

The preconditions and particularly the advantages and limitations of using small-diameter and short-length logs were explored. The study was carried out as an extensive collaboration project between Metla, Technical Research Centre of Finland and five medium-sized sawmills and as a result, a guidelines were created for selection of timber stands marked for cutting and value assessment of use. Companies have applied the results to their strategic planning of normal and small-diameter log use, selection of timber marked for cutting and product-based planning of sawing and further processing.

The project was part of the Wood Wisdom research programme during 2000-2002. The objective was to improve the competitive edge of forestry and the forest industry in the changing business environment by combining the resources throughout the production chain to meet customers' requirements for the end product. The entire research and technology programme contained the chemical and mechanical processing of wood from the end product to raw material.