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A key management objective of forestry is the production of wood. The course will introduce students to the various wood processing industries, including sawmilling, engineered wood products, pulping, and biofuels. Reference will be made to the most suitable resource for individual products and how forest management can impact on the value of the timber.
Wood is a sustainable and environmentally material with many uses and will play an even greater role in the future circular bioeconomy.This course looks at the processing of wood, starting with the breakdown of logs in sawmills into solid wood products and involved processes; drying and preservation. These operations are highly complex and vary greatly with the available timber resource. A large portion of the wood resource is broken down into smaller particles of various size and shape and reconstituted into products like wood panels or LVL beams. Another sector using large quantities of wood as raw material is the pulp and paper industry. The relevant processes and products are discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages for processing wood in a particular way are explained. A final point are the possibilities of recycling wood and using wood as an energy source introducing the different technologies for converting the solid fuelwood into liquid or gaseous fuels.
1. Identify the various products manufactured from wood (EEI1, EEI3, CE2, GA2)2. Compare wood properties to the wood quality required by the wood processing industry (EEI1, EEI, C2, GA2)3. Describe the manufacturing processes and structure of the wood processing industry (EEI1, EEI5, CE2, GA2)4. Explain the role of wood in the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy (EEI, EEI5, C32, GA2)5. Analyse and contrast wood processing operations (EEI2, EEI3, EEI4)6. Evaluate advanced scientific and technical topics and explain them in seminar and written formats (EEI2, EEI3, EEI4, CE2, GA2, GA3)
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Employable, innovative and enterprising
Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.
Engaged with the community
Students will have observed and understood a culture within a community by reflecting on their own performance and experiences within that community.
Globally aware
Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.
FORE223 - Wood Science or approval of Director of Studies
FORE327 prior 2026, FORE619 prior 2026
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Clemens Altaner
Domestic fee $1,190.00
International fee $5,875.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
Maximum enrolment is 48
For further information see School of Forestry .