Where Does Wood Flooring Come From

Plantations

A tree plantation is basically a wood farm. Land is prepared for the sole purpose of growing trees to felled and sold on. This type of plantation is normally on a massive scale and the individual areas are evenly aged and just one or two species.

The plants chosen are normally selected for their positive traits and may be genetically improved to resist disease and pests.

The wood production of a plantation is higher than that of a natural forest and whilst typically plantations only account for 5% of the world's forest cover, it is estimated that they produce 35% of the world's wood.

Plantations are sometimes put in place for environmental reasons, such as to reduce soil erosion, stabilise landslides and provide windbreaks.

Growth Cycle

• The land is cleared using a combination of burning,mechanical means and herbicides. Saplings are then planted. These are looked after until established with fertilisers and pesticides.
• Once the saplings have grown enough for the crowns to start closing in, they are classed as being at "Pole" stage. There is fierce competition between the plants and the reduced space may result in reduced growth, so they are thinned out to allow the remaining trees to thrive. This is done in quite a uniform way to allow space for the remaining trees to grow. At this stage the trees are around 7-30cm in diameter so the removed trees are not really large enough to use as timber. These are normally used for paper pulp, particleboard and strand board.
• As the trees grow and space becomes tight, they are thinned out again. Often these trees are large enough for some timber uses, but if not are again used for pulp and chips.
• After around 10-60 years (Depending on the species) the trees have reached maturity and the growth is slowing down. The trees are then felled, de-limbed and taken to be processed.
• The land is cleared and the cycle will begin again.

Environmental issues

One of the biggest arguments against this type of wood production is that the farmed area will have little natural flora and fauna present due to the lack of species diversity.

However this type of wood production is carefully managed so much smaller areas can yield much larger quantities of useable timber with less natural forest destruction. A good example of this is in New Zealand, where just 19% of the forest area produces 99% of industrial wood. This leaves the natural forests largely untouched.

Some environmental groups encourage this type of wood production, as the fast dense growth of these trees is beneficial to CO2 reduction.

Natural Forests

A large amount of timber comes from naturally occurring forests. These are forests that have grown without human intervention. Guidelines must be followed carefully to ensure that the impact on the environment is minimal and that the forest can regenerate successfully for future generations to enjoy.

Organisations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)work with Loggers, Suppliers and retailers to ensure that the forests are managed in a responsible way. Products and suppliers are certified if they adhere to good working practices and comply with national legislation, respect local rights, maintain the ecological functions of the forest and carry out adequate planning and monitoring of the operation.

FSC Principles

• The FSC works to 10 principles to ensure the sustainability of the world’s forests
• Compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties
• Demonstrated and uncontested, clearly defined, long term land tenure and use rights
• Recognition and respect of indigenous peoples rights
• Maintenance or enhancement of long term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities and respect of workers’ rights in compliance with international labour organisation conventions
• Equitable use and sharing of benefits derived from the forest
• Reduction of environmental impact of logging activities and maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest
• Appropriate and continuously updated management plan
• Appropriate monitoring and assessment activities to access the condition of the forest, management activities and their social and environmental impacts
• Maintenance of high value conservation forests defined as forests containing environmental and social values that are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance
• In addition to compliance with all of the above, plantations must contribute to reduce the pressure on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests

Green Apple Flooring is eager to follow a policy of respecting our environment and the quality of life for both now and the future. Please see our environmental policy for further details on what we are doing to achieve this.