About this Research Topic
This Research Topic has been developed in collaboration with Shahlinney Lipeh of Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM).
Wood is an outstanding building material and is generally considered sustainable, renewable, and possesses a more favorable carbon footprint compared to competing materials such as concrete and steel. It’s importance as a resource has a great impact on the forestry sector as, being of biological origin, wood requires effective forest management in order to both meet timber production demand and retain utility and value. One major aspect of this is that wood is subject to the actions of biodeteriogens (mainly insects and fungi), and therefore requires protective management strategies to mitigate damage in areas of high moisture and soil contact, and in critical structural uses. Depending on wood characteristics mainly predetermined by tree species and management system in use to produce wood for construction purposes the most common and cost-effective means of reducing the risk of biological degradation of wood is through designs that exclude water, however, chemical wood preservatives are commonly used where this is not possible. These highly regulated and controlled substances are a key component of the modern success of wood as a residential and industrial building material, but are increasingly viewed as potential sources of pollution and environmental damage.
The past decades have seen the rise of sustainable forest management and forestry and often wood preservation is excluded from this due to negative perceptions. However, properly managed wood preservation is an extremely useful and necessary component in the context of sustainability as it lengthens the useful service life of wood and wood-based materials. This reduces the need for unnecessary premature replacement of critical wooden materials and contributes to effective forest resource utilization. Moreover, regarding climate change mitigation measures it plays a major role in determining the residence time of Carbon in long-lived wood products. There is a definite need for wood preservatives in areas of critical structural use and high deterioration hazard, and that must be balanced with current sustainable forest practices.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide an overview of the current status of preservative-treated wood around the world (including emerging wood modification methods) and the impacts of this, particularly on forest management. We would like to showcase papers that identify strengths and weaknesses in the use of preservatives and highlight research needs to increase their future safety and utility as a sustainable means of prolonging wood service life.
The Editors of this Research Topic wish to capture the state-of-the-art in wood protection. This may include:
• Life cycle analysis of preservative-treated wood
• Market trends in treated wood
• New preservative chemistries
• Alternative modification methods
• Remediation and disposal at the end of the life cycle
• Sustainable wood preservation
• Research needs in the area of wood preservation
• How forest management can effectively support wood preservation
Wood is an outstanding building material and is generally considered sustainable, renewable, and possesses a more favorable carbon footprint compared to competing materials such as concrete and steel. It’s importance as a resource has a great impact on the forestry sector as, being of biological origin, wood requires effective forest management in order to both meet timber production demand and retain utility and value. One major aspect of this is that wood is subject to the actions of biodeteriogens (mainly insects and fungi), and therefore requires protective management strategies to mitigate damage in areas of high moisture and soil contact, and in critical structural uses. Depending on wood characteristics mainly predetermined by tree species and management system in use to produce wood for construction purposes the most common and cost-effective means of reducing the risk of biological degradation of wood is through designs that exclude water, however, chemical wood preservatives are commonly used where this is not possible. These highly regulated and controlled substances are a key component of the modern success of wood as a residential and industrial building material, but are increasingly viewed as potential sources of pollution and environmental damage.
The past decades have seen the rise of sustainable forest management and forestry and often wood preservation is excluded from this due to negative perceptions. However, properly managed wood preservation is an extremely useful and necessary component in the context of sustainability as it lengthens the useful service life of wood and wood-based materials. This reduces the need for unnecessary premature replacement of critical wooden materials and contributes to effective forest resource utilization. Moreover, regarding climate change mitigation measures it plays a major role in determining the residence time of Carbon in long-lived wood products. There is a definite need for wood preservatives in areas of critical structural use and high deterioration hazard, and that must be balanced with current sustainable forest practices.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide an overview of the current status of preservative-treated wood around the world (including emerging wood modification methods) and the impacts of this, particularly on forest management. We would like to showcase papers that identify strengths and weaknesses in the use of preservatives and highlight research needs to increase their future safety and utility as a sustainable means of prolonging wood service life.
The Editors of this Research Topic wish to capture the state-of-the-art in wood protection. This may include:
• Life cycle analysis of preservative-treated wood
• Market trends in treated wood
• New preservative chemistries
• Alternative modification methods
• Remediation and disposal at the end of the life cycle
• Sustainable wood preservation
• Research needs in the area of wood preservation
• How forest management can effectively support wood preservation
Keywords: Wood preservation, biodegradation, chemical treatments, modification, environmental impacts, sustainable forestry, safety, carbon sequestration
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
