Edinburgh Napier University

  "I am investigating the merchantability and wood properties of Noble fir (Abies procera), Norway spruce (Picea abies), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata) growing in Great Britain. These species are not widely planted in the UK and there is a lack of information about the quality and how they can contribute to the British timber supply for wood construction. In addition to the more traditional measurements of wood properties in the forest and the lab, non-destructive acoustic techniques are assessed for prediction of mechanical properties.
Material from each of the four species was obtained at three different latitudes in Great Britain representing different growing regions.

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