Effects of silviculture practices on engineering properties of northern hardwood species of the Great Lakes Region: a literature review

This report summarizes technical and scientific literature on the relationship between silvicultural practices and engineering properties of wood from northern hardwood species grown in the Great Lakes Region. Knowledge of engineering properties is critical to the utilization of hardwoods in engineered wood products, including but not limited to wood composites and mass timber. In addition, this review revealed the following: (a) fundamental property information from research studies conducted in the early 20th century exists for many hardwood species indigenous to the Great Lakes Region; (b) several research studies have been conducted on the effects silvicultural practices have on tree form, log quality, and growth rate; (c) there is relatively little information regarding the effects silvicultural practices have on engineering properties in these species.