Quality of Wood and Wood Products

Holzmuster aus der Sammlung des Thünen-Instituts

Lesser-known wood species as well as new wood-based products are more and more available on the European market. We are testing and evaluating their properties and possible applications.

Timber trade, production and distribution of wood-based material are global business. New wood products and a wide range of raw materials, so-called “lesser known species”, are increasingly placed on the market. However, the knowledge of these assortments is limited.

We are well experienced in testing and assessing relevant properties with respect to intended applications. In alignment with the “European Timber Regulation (EUTR)” and the “German Timber Trade Protection Act (HolzSiG)” coming into force the “Thünen Centre of Competence on the Origin of Timber” was established; in this context we are responsible for science-based wood identification.

We are working on the following key topics

Structure/property relationships in solid wood and wood composites

The utilization of wood and wood products largely depends on the wood properties. New wood products need a continuous determination of their individual properties, by chemical, physical and biological methods.

Quality of new exchange wood, plantation wood and new wood composites

Lesser known timber species has been increasingly used during the last years. To assess the range of possible applications for these kind of wood species a science-based evaluation of their properties and their durability is required.

Wood identification and "fibre atlas"

The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) requires a reliable identification of timber species. Existing and presently developed databases are updated and new methods for fibre identification methods are currently developed.