Potential of increasing utilizable volume from thinnings, harvesting waste and sawmill wastes to promote product diversification at Nyanga pine, Zimbabwe
- Author
- Mvududu, Anthony S.
- Title
- Potential of increasing utilizable volume from thinnings, harvesting waste and sawmill wastes to promote product diversification at Nyanga pine, Zimbabwe
- Abstract
- Forest product utilization has shifted from the traditional sawn timber towards engineered wood products such as plywood. This research examined the potential increase in utilizable volume through product diversification from sawn timber only to plywood and paper products at The Wattle Company’s Nyanga Pine Division, Zimbabwe. The aim was to assess the potential increase in utilizable volume from utilizing first thinning, second thinning residues, harvesting waste and sawmill byproducts to produce plywood and paper products. A quasi-experimental design was used, where data were collected from Pinus patula and P. taeda compartments at 4, 12, and 20 years of age (representing first thinning, second thinning, and clear-felling stages respectively). Tree volumes were calculated from diameter and height measurements using standardized allometric formulae. Destructive sampling was used to determine bark thickness and log volume. Results showed that diversification significantly enhances utilizable volume (p0.05). For plywood production, utilizable volume significantly increased from 238 m³/ha (sawn timber only) to 252 m³/ha (6% gain), primarily from clear-felling residues (13.05 m³/ha). Paper showed significantly greater gains than plywood, raising utilizable volume to 271 m³/ha which is 12 % higher than producing sawn timber alone. Combined diversification of plywood and paper maximized utilizable volume to 285 m³/ha (73.8 % efficiency). Therefore, results suggest the significance of these product diversifications, thus rejecting the null hypothesis (H0) that diversification has no potential to increase volume utilization. In this regard, integrating plywood and paper production into forestry operations has potential to enhance round wood utilization, economic resilience and sustainability, aligning with global trends in forest-based bio economies.
- Date
- May 2025
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Engineered wood
- Plywood
- Sawn timber
- Supervisor
- Dr. L. Mujuru
- Item sets
- Department of Animal Sciences
