Oriented strand board (OSB) are widely marketed for several applications, from building to packaging. The manufacturing of poplar OSB has recently started in Northern Italy, representing a relevant innovation in the sector, given that this product is usually made of coniferous wood. Thermal treatment is nowadays widely used for increasing the dimensional stability and the durability of wood. The drawback is, however, that the mechanical performance of the treated wood product is reduced. The objective of this research was to analyze the effect of thermo-vacuum treatment on the characteristics of poplar OSB. To this purpose, boards 15 mm thick and with a density of 590 kg/m³ were drawn from the standard production of the manufacturer and thermally treated under vacuum conditions at 190 °C for 2 h. Their mass loss, bending strength, modulus of elasticity, internal bond and swelling were determined. In addition, color change and wettability were studied before and after a weathering test. The thermal treatment significantly changed the properties of poplar OSB. The mass, the bending strength, the modulus of elasticity and the internal bond decreased with different intensities. The swelling after immersion in water decreased. The color switched toward a darker tone and the wettability decreased. After an accelerated weathering test (AWT), the color lightened, and the wettability increased. Overall, this study broadened the knowledge about the thermal treatment of this wood-based panel, which could enable new applications with particular attention to non-structural uses in humid conditions.

Structural timber has been used for centuries in construction and represents a traditional building component in many countries of the European Union. Nowadays, the interest in its use has been renewed due to several factors such as: ease of processing, relative lightness, mechanical performance, sustainability and decorative appearance. On March 2011, the European Parliament adopted the Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 (known as CPR), laying down harmonized conditions for the marketing of construction products. According to CPR’s dispositions, since January 1st 2012 CE marking of structural solid timber has been mandatory. While on one hand for the building sector enterprises this implies remarkable challenges, on the other hand it will allow a better valorization of structural timber. In this context, the present work illustrates the European standardization framework for CE marking of structural timber, particularly with respect to the visual grading method applicable to solid wood products and to the Italian experience in adopting the new rules.Strukturna se drvna građa stoljećima upotrebljava u graditeljstvu i čini tradicionalnu sastavnicu gradnje u mnogim zemljama Europske Unije. Danas nekoliko činitelja pridonosi obnovi zanimanja za uporabu strukturne drvne građe, među kojima su jednostavnost obrade, relativna lakoća, mehanička svojstva drva, obnovljivost i dekorativan izgled drvne građe. U ožujku 2011. godine Europski je parlament usvojio Uredbu EU No 305/2011 (poznatu kao CPR), kojom su usklađeni uvjeti za prodaju građevnih proizvoda. Prema dispozicijama CPR-a od 1. siječnja 2012, za strukturno masivno drvo obvezna je oznaka CE. Iako za poduzeća građevnog sektora to podrazumijeva mnoge izazove, to će omogućiti i bolju valorizaciju strukturne građe. U tom kontekstu ovaj rad ilustrira Europski okvir normizacije za CE oznaku strukturne građe, s posebnim naglaskom na vizualnoj metodi ocjenjivanja kvalitete koja je primjenjiva za proizvode od masivnog drva, te s osvrtom na talijanska iskustva u usvajanju novih pravila

In the fall of 2018, the “Vaia” windstorm grounded around 8.5 million m³ of timber in northeastern Italy. Soon after, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Italy activated a project called “fair supply chain” to promote the purchase of timber from the damaged areas at a reasonable price. The initiative was addressed at forest owners, forest and processing enterprises, retailers, and supporting organizations. This study reports the results of a survey performed to assess the effectiveness of the project two years after its launch. The survey, in the form of a questionnaire submitted to all adhering organizations, investigated different aspects such as motivations for adherence to the project, satisfaction with the project, sale of the labeled material, and promotion of the specific label. The results provide a detailed outline of the above aspects. Through the various findings, the project is perceived as effective in supporting the region, enhancing an organizations’ image, and limiting price fall. Yet, further efforts should be aimed at increasing networking and business opportunities. Some recommendations are also offered for similar projects in the future, as forest disturbances are increasing worldwide in frequency and intensity due to climate change.

Poplar Oriented Strand Board (OSB) has been produced since 2012 in Italy, and is well-established on the market. Nonetheless, some doubts have recently emerged about the raw material supply due to the trend towards reduction in plantations. Sweet chestnut is widespread in Italy, where its woodlands cover around 800,000 ha, mainly based on coppice. Partly or entirely replacing poplar with sweet chestnut would result in a new OSB with relevant perspectives for the national forest-wood sector, also interesting other European countries where sweet chestnut is widespread. The present study investigates the properties of OSB manufactured at an industrial scale with different shares of poplar and sweet chestnut wood (respectively, 50–50%, 40–60%, and 100% in weight). Density, internal bond, bending strength, modulus of elasticity and swelling were tested according to EN 300. Overall, the results indicate that sweet chestnut OSB/2 (for load-bearing use in dry conditions) can be manufactured through the process currently used for manufacturing poplar OSB, a key aspect in terms of industrial feasibility. Overall, specific adjustments in the process (concerning pressures applied, gluing system and strand cutting optimization) could make the above boards compliant with the requirements of OSB/3 (for load-bearing use in humid conditions).

Wood identification has never been more important to serve the purpose of global forest protection, by controlling international illegal timber trade and enabling the enforcement of timber trade regulations. Macroscopic wood identification is the fastest method for the first identification of an unknown timber and, with proper training, it can be performed by operators in the timber industry, restorers and curators of cultural heritage, wood traders, designers, students and customs officers. Here we describe a wood atlas and accompanying software, SIR-Legno, developed for the identification of 48 Italian timber species based on a recently proposed list of macroscopic features for wood identification. For each species the atlas provides a complete macroscopic description plus information on natural durability, end-use class, physico-mechanical properties, conservation status, maximum diameter of the bole and most frequent uses. For each genus covered by the atlas, information about species number, CITES-listed species, main commercial timbers, similarly-named timbers from other genera, geographical distribution and notes on species or species group recognition at macroscopic and microscopic level are provided. SIR-Legno is an educational product, a handy identification key and a tool to search woods by their natural durability, end-use class and physico-mechanical properties. Both the atlas and the software can be freely downloaded from the web. Thanks to the adoption of a codified list of characters and a transferable design, SIR-Legno can be easily replicated or expanded to other databases in order to include new species. SIR-Legno is freeware and works on any version of Windows.

Wood packaging materials (WPMs) are widely used for collecting, storing and trading a wide range of products, including fresh fruit, vegetables and grains. The occurrence of moulds on WPMs used in the food industry must be avoided at every stage of the supply chain. This study aimed at (1) characterising fungal mould populations developing on fresh boards of hardwoods (European beech and poplar) and softwoods (Norway spruce and eastern white pine) commonly used by the packaging industry, and (2) assessing the effectiveness of two new molecules approved to come in contact with food, potassium sorbate and copper-8-quinolinolate, against mould growth and sporulation. A total of 322 fungal isolates belonging to 182 putatively different morphotypes were obtained. Spruce and beech boards were found to harbour a higher number of putatively different morphotypes compared to poplar and pine. The spectrum of fungi mostly included Ascomycota and the most abundant taxa were Trichoderma spp. and Penicillium spp. The effectiveness of the two new molecules (potassium sorbate approved for the use in both Europe and USA, and copper-8-quinolinolate approved for the use in USA only) was assessed on treated test pieces by inoculating conidial suspensions combining the three most common fungal species for each wooden material. Both preservatives showed comparable effectiveness and significantly reduced (P < 0.05) mould mycelial growth and sporulation on all the tested wooden materials compared to untreated controls, representing a suitable option for the control of moulds on WPMs.