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Challenges of the lumber production in the Amazon region: relation between sustainability of sawmills, process yield and logs quality

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Abstract

There has been an increasing global demand for more sustainable production systems, especially in what concerns goods produced from natural tropical forests. The lumber industry in the Brazilian Amazon region produces a significant volume of lumber, and as a consequence of frequent non-optimal procedures, considerable amounts of waste are generated. In order to optimize the timber production and to minimize the environmental damage associated with low yields of sawmills, two features are indispensable: the lumber yield and the quality of the logs. The aim of this research was to analyze the wood quality and lumber yield of logs of tree species harvested from natural stands in the Amazon rainforest. A total of 120 logs from 21 tree species were harvested from natural stands in the state of Pará, Brazil, and analyzed for wood quality. Out of these, 60 logs were evaluated for lumber yield. The most common defects found in the logs were flattening, surface cracks, and eccentricity of the pith. By means of the principal component analysis, the Mezilaurus itauba, Protium decandrum, and Caryocar villosum species stood out. The average lumber yield was 45%. The Bowdichia nitida and C. villosum species presented the highest yield values (average of 63%). There was a trend of correlation between the lumber yield and the quality of the logs. Based on the methodology used to analyze the quality of the logs, inferences can be made on the yield of the logging and, consequently, the sustainability of the timber industries in the Brazilian Amazon.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) in Brazil (process 306793/2019-9). The authors are grateful for the comments and suggestions presented by the reviewers during the review process, which contributed to improve the quality of the paper and, COOPMASP (Cooperativa da Indústria Moveleira e Serradores de Parauapebas—Brazil) by provide the raw material. We would also like to thank Michael James Stablein of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for his translation services and review of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Rural University of Amazonia-UFRA, Campus of Parauapebas, Parauapebas, Pará, Brazil

    Elizângela da Silva Luz, Selma Lopes Goulart & Thiago de Paula Protásio

  2. Federal University of the Uberlandia – UFU, Campus Monte Carmelo, Monte Carmelo, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Álvaro Augusto Vieira Soares & Amélia Guimarães Carvalho

  3. Department of Forest Science, Federal University of the Parana – UFPR, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    Thiago Campos Monteiro

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  1. Elizângela da Silva Luz
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  2. Álvaro Augusto Vieira Soares
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Correspondence to Thiago de Paula Protásio.

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da Silva Luz, E., Soares, Á.A.V., Goulart, S.L. et al. Challenges of the lumber production in the Amazon region: relation between sustainability of sawmills, process yield and logs quality. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 4924–4948 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00797-9

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