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Increasing Mass Timber Consumption in the U.S. and Sustainable Timber Supply

Author

Listed:
  • Jeff Comnick

    (Natural Resource Spatial Informatics Group, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA)

  • Luke Rogers

    (Natural Resource Spatial Informatics Group, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA)

  • Kent Wheiler

    (Center for International Trade in Forest Products, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA)

Abstract

Mass timber products are growing in popularity as a substitute for steel and concrete, reducing embodied carbon in the built environment. This trend has raised questions about the sustainability of the U.S. timber supply. Our research addresses concerns that rising demand for mass timber products may result in unsustainable levels of harvesting in coniferous forests in the United States. Using U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, incremental U.S. softwood (coniferous) timber harvests were projected to supply a high-volume estimate of mass timber and dimensional lumber consumption in 2035. Growth in reserve forests and riparian zones was excluded, and low confidence intervals were used for timber growth estimates, compared with high confidence intervals for harvest and consumption estimates. Results were considered for the U.S. in total and by three geographic regions (North, South, and West). In total, forest inventory growth in America exceeds timber harvests including incremental mass timber volumes. Even the most optimistic projections of mass timber growth will not exceed the lowest expected annual increases in the nation’s harvestable coniferous timber inventory.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeff Comnick & Luke Rogers & Kent Wheiler, 2021. "Increasing Mass Timber Consumption in the U.S. and Sustainable Timber Supply," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2021:i:1:p:381-:d:714685
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sean Chiao & Nancy F. Lin, 2021. "Sustainable Buildings and Practice in China," Management for Professionals, in: Bing Wang & Tobias Just (ed.), Understanding China’s Real Estate Markets, edition 1, pages 243-266, Springer.
    2. Dharm P. S. Bhawuk, 2021. "Building Cultural Bridges Between China and India," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 33(1), pages 103-120, March.
    3. Sean Chiao & Nancy F. Lin, 2021. "Sustainable Buildings and Practice in China," Management for Professionals, in: Bing Wang & Tobias Just (ed.), Understanding China’s Real Estate Markets, edition 2, pages 243-266, Springer.
    4. ., 2021. "Building sustainable supply chains," Chapters, in: Sustainable Consumption, Production and Supply Chain Management, chapter 16, pages 96-101, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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