Potential of increasing utilizable volume from thinning’s, harvesting waste and sawmill wastes to promote product diversification at Nyanga pine, Zimbabwe · Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author

Mvududu, Anthony S.

Title

Potential of increasing utilizable volume from thinning’s, 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 utilisable volume from utilising first thinnings, 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 standardised allometric formulae. Destructive sampling was used to determine bark thickness and log volume. Results showed that diversification significantly enhances utilisable volume (p0.05). For plywood production, utilisable 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 utilisable volume to 271 m³/ha which is 12 % higher than producing sawn timber alone. Combined diversification of plywood and paper maximised utilisable 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 utilisation. In this regard, integrating plywood and paper production into forestry operations has potential to enhance round wood utilisation, economic resilience and sustainability, aligning with global trends in forest-based bioeconomies

Date

May 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Product diversification

Utilisable volume

Thinning

Resource efficiency

Supervisor

Dr. L. Mujuru