Third conference on wood technology
FAO/ECE joint working party on logging techniques and training of forest workers
Technical assistance notes
Protection from avalanches
Joint Subcommission on Mediterranean forestry problems 'Silva Mediterranea'
FAO has among its advisory technical panels two in the field of forest products - one dealing with wood chemistry and the other with mechanical wood technology. The purpose of these panels of individual experts is very broadly to aid the Organization in making the forest products supplies of the world go further and serve mankind better. More specifically in the case of the technical panel on mechanical wood technology, the purpose is to pro" mote, in the engineering and mechanical fields, the interchange of technical information and research findings, the unification as far as practicable of research methods, and the development of improved practices relating to the utilization of the forest crop.
The technical panel on mechanical wood technology represents in effect an international body of engineers, technologists and other scientists specializing in forest products research and mechanical phases of forest products utilization. It was established by the Director-General of FAO in consultation with Member Governments to advise the Organization on specific problems on which international exchange of information and international agreement are highly desirable. Such problems include the evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of the various species of wood, including tropical woods; the evaluation of the properties of veneer, plywood, fiberboard, modified wood, and other wood and wood-base products, and the standardization, insofar as possible, of test methods. A partial list of other subjects is as follows:
mechanical conversion methods and equipment,
nomenclature and definitions,
methods of sampling and analysis,
principles of structural timber grading,
working stresses for timber designs,
methods of seasoning and conditioning materials,
methods of preservative treatment and their effect on strength,
building construction,
joints and fastenings,
glued laminated construction,
industrial and factory uses,
requirements for such uses as poles, ties (sleepers), and mine timbers (pitprops).
In the early days of FAO, meetings of a technical panel (at that time called a committee) on mechanical wood technology were organized at Zurich (Switzerland) and Washington (U.S.A.) in 1947. A further meeting at Geneva (Switzerland) in 1948 made considerable progress in agreements on methods of testing wood. Since the technical panel, as such was without authority to make recommendations to governments in regard to such agreements, it then appeared advisable to change the status of the FAO meetings on mechanical wood technology so that there might be such authority. This was made possible by inviting Member Governments to delegate representatives to special conferences irrespective of their membership of the technical panel on mechanical wood technology.
Accordingly, in 1949, the Director-General of FAO invited all Member Governments to send delegates to a First Conference on Mechanical Wood Technology at Geneva (Switzerland). A second conference of this nature was convened at Igls (Austria) in 1951, and a Third Conference on Wood Technology at Paris (France) 17 to 26 May, 1954. In the intervening periods, working parties of members of the technical panel on mechanical wood technology carried out special assignments allotted by the Conferences and then reported back the results of their work.
At the Third Conference, there were 54 participants from 26 member countries, as follows: Austria, Belgium, Burma, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Spain Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and Viet-Nam.
The Conference was formally opened on 17 May at the Chambre de Commerce Internationale by Mr. Leloup on behalf of the Director-General of FAO. He recalled the work carried out at previous Conferences and by various working parties in the intervening periods, and outlined the scope of the deliberations of the present session. Speaking on behalf of the French Government, Mr. J. de Vaissière (Direction des Eaux et Forêts) welcomed the delegates and stressed that their conclusions and recommendations would hold great interest for all those who were concerned with sustaining the popularity and competitive status on world markets of wood and wood-base materials.
At the final plenary meeting on 26 May the Conference was addressed by Mr. du Vignaux, Inspecteur-Général des Eaux et Forêts. On that occasion the delegates formally expressed their deep appreciation to the French Government for the generous hospitality and facilities accorded to the Conference at Paris. In particular, they acknowledged with sincere thanks the special contributions made by the Directors of the Centre Technique du Bois, the Director of the Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, and the members of their staffs.
The Conference unanimously elected J. Campredon (France) as its Chairman. L. J. Markwardt (U.S.A.) and B. Thunell (Sweden) were elected Vice-Chairmen.
Technical discussions dealt with the following:
1. Testing methods - review of past FAO Conferences and proposals for further internationally acceptable methods relating to:(a) timber
(b) fiberboards, including chipboards
(c) veneer, plywood and other glued veneer constructions;2. strength and stress grading of timber;
3. methods of testing the resistance of treated and untreated wood and wood-base materials against fire;
4. advances and developments in sawing and machining techniques;
5. progress in producing new construction materials based on wood
6. promotion of the international exchange of ideas and information among research workers.
The following working parties were established under the Chairmen indicated:
1. Testing of Mechanical Properties of Timber, (H. Kühne, Switzerland)2. Testing of Physical Properties of Timber, (F.F.P. Kollmann, Germany);
3. Testing Methods for Fiberboards and Chipboards, (L. J. Markwardt, U.S.A.);
4. Testing Methods for Veneer, Plywood and other glued Veneer Constructions, (F. H. Armstrong, U.K.);
5. Structural Grading, (B. Thunell, Sweden)
6. Fire Test Methods for Wood and Wood-base Materials, (O. Brauns, Sweden);
7. Sawing and Machining, (B. Thunell, Sweden);
8. Classification of Wood-base Materials, (F.F.P. Kollmann, Germany).
The report of the Third Conference is available from FAO.
Forestry work is one of the most arduous and exacting occupations pursued under the most diverse climatic conditions, and often with casual, unskilled or seasonal labor. In many cases it is carried out with implements which have scarcely changed during two to three hundred years. Not only does output tend to remain low, but the status of the workers is also affected, wages being poor and recruitment difficult.
In a mechanized age, forest industries in many regions are out of step. Therefore the evolution of improved working techniques which may lighten the work and improve performance, while at the same time lowering costs, is of great importance. Such a development can only go hand-in-hand with the formation of a skilled labor force enjoying good wages and satisfactory working conditions.
Some of the many problems involved in the improvement of forestry working techniques were discussed last June at Geneva by specialists who attended a technical meeting called jointly by FAO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This meeting grew out of the work which had already been carried out by an eight-member Pilot Committee established by FAO's European Forestry Commission in 1952. (See Unasylva Vol. VII, No. 2).
Experts from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Eastern and Western Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia participated in the meeting, which was also attended by a representative from the International Labour Organisation an observer from Burma and technical advisors from Canada and the United States. H. Winkelman (Switzerland) was elected chairman.
Working methods and techniques
After a discussion of a study on international comparison of performance tests in logging by H. Hilf (German Federal Republic), it was recommended that performance comparisons in Europe should be carried out for both high forests and coppice and in groups of countries having similar conditions of climate, species, etc. The meeting also decided to have a study made of work that can be carried out by one man (including work involving the use of mechanized equipment). It stressed the need to facilitate the exchange of experts between different countries for the purpose of studying new working methods. A study on criteria for correct logging techniques and best methods of work in European countries by H. Gläser (German Federal Republic) was approved; countries should pay more attention to integration between research and practical work.
The meeting approved the organization of a training course for timekeepers at Zurich under the auspices of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Research. This course, the second of its kind, was held in July and was attended by 22 students from nine European countries.
Mechanization
Having reviewed reports that had been prepared on power saws, loading and tractors, the meeting decided to collect and distribute further information on research and new documentation. A working party was set up to consider standardizing of tractor testing (in which the International Standards Organization was also interested) and methods of calculating operation costs of forest tractors. New projects proposed included investigations on chemical and mechanical barking, full-tree logging, the bundling of small-sized timber, and the handling and transport of timber in mountainous country.
Forest workers' training
Delegates stressed the need for the training of instructors for forest workers. It was proposed that the International Labour Organisation, which had collaborated with the original Pilot Committee on vocational training, should sponsor traveling scholarships and provide experts for the guidance of officials in charge of forest workers' training. Procedures for the exchange of teaching material, films, slides, etc., were planned. The problem of the health and safety of forest workers was discussed and it was decided to carry out, in collaboration with ILO, an international study on this important question.
The meeting approved the work which had been carried out on a directory of research and training institutes and on documentation and bibliography. The need for a multilingual glossary on forest work science would be examined in collaboration with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the Joint FAO/IUFRO Committee on Bibliography.
Study tour
A study tour was organized by the Italian Government, during which delegates visited the Testing Station of the Centro Nazionale Meccanico Agricolo at Turin, where equipment for the testing of tractors was inspected and some trial testing carried out. Near Piacenza mechanized logging and planting operations were inspected, and the extraction of timber by cableway in mountainous country seen at Domodossola.
Publications
The following studies in the field of forestry working technique and vocational training have been published:
1. FAO STAFF - European Directory of Research and Training Institutes Concerned with the Rationalization of Forestry Work in the Field, of Felling, Logging and Transport of Timber. (FAO/EFC/LOG/14 Rev. 1).2. GLASER, H. - Bibliography on Work Science in Forests. (MEFAO/3/54).
3. GLASER, H. - Criteria for Correct Logging Techniques and Best Methods of Work in European Countries. (FAO/EFC/LOG/23, TIM/LOG/2).
4. HILF, H. H. - International Performance Comparison in the Field of Logging. (FAO/EFC/LOG/31).
5. ILO STAFF. - The Vocational Training of Forestry Workers. (FAO/EFC/LOG/15, Rev. 1).
6. KANTOLA, M. - Loading of Coniferous Sawlogs on Trucks. (FAO/EFC/LOG/20).
7. DE MEGILLE, X. - Tractors for Logging. (FAO Forestry Development Paper No. 1).
8. DE MEGILLE, X.- Forestry Criteria and Equipment of Tractors. (FAO/EFC/LOG/28).
9. SUNDBEBG, U. - Use of Power Saws in Forestry Operations. (FAO/EFC/LOG/19).
To-date, over 100 forestry reports to governments have -been issued by FAO. are confidential documents which are not available for distribution except on the express authority of the government concerned.Formal reports to governments after the completion of missions are not, of course, in most cases the really valuable part of technical assistance. They often represent only a summary rendering of an expert's findings and recommendations, and do not supplant in value the expert's on-the-spot advice, training and leadership.
Technical assistance continues to represent the action arm of FAO's work in forestry. But requests for missions still greatly exceed the financial capacity of the program.
India. Except for one expert working on problems of desert control, all technical assistance assignments in India have been concerned with various phases of utilization - sawmilling, wood technology research, mountain logging, improvement of the plywood industry, and timber engineering. A survey of the technical and economic aspects of the pulp and paper industry and the raw material possibilities concluded with recommendations for a two-phased program: short-term developments covering five to six years and aiming at an increase in capacity of 45,000 tons, and a long-term program covering 15 to 20 years, which might serve to meet the entire paper demand of the country.
Philippines. A team of FAO and United Nations experts have been investigating the prospects for expansion of the pulp and paper industry in the Philippines. The preliminary surveys have now been brought to a conclusion, and estimates of capital cost, operating cost and return on investment arrived at. The domestic market is sufficient to absorb some 30,000 tons per year of new production of a range of papers and paperboards, plus about 1,400 tons of lightweight papers, as well as an increased production of miscellaneous papers from the existing paper mills. The most promising raw materials are sugar-cane bagasse in Negros Occidental, rain-forest wood and wood wastes on the island of Mindanao, and abaca plantation waste near Davao. The possibility of obtaining native long-fibered, low cost raw materials in quantity in the near future is remote, but the prospects of growing pine or other conifers to ensure a supply in the more distant future are good.
Iraq. Experts have advised on the planting of eucalypt species and on poplar cultivation. There are two main aspects of the poplar problem in Iraq: first, improvement in present yield, and second, increase in area grown, to be considered before turning to a third - the introduction and propagation of exotic species. Poplars have been grown in the north of Iraq for centuries.
Yugoslavia. A considerable number of forestry experts have been at work on short assignments, and many Yugoslav technicians have been studying abroad on FAO Fellowships. Advice and assistance have been given in the fields of forest policy; soil conservation; genetics; reforestation; silviculture; forest products research; mountain logging; veneer and plywood manufacture; bandsaws; kiln drying; and utilization of wood waste. Tremendous sacrifices were demanded from the forests of Yugoslavia through two world wars, and again for the rehabilitation of the country afterwards. The forests have been drawn on, in some cases to the point of exhaustion, to re-build thousands of homesteads, bridges and railways, and for large exports of timber to secure foreign monies so much needed for the industrial development of the country. Today, with the period of greatest demand over, Yugoslav foresters face the difficult task of reconstituting their forest resources and introducing sound management.
Honduras. In the photograph above, a forester shows the right swing of the scraper during demonstrations of correct methods of pine tapping. As part of a drive to correct the usual destructive resin-tapping, demonstrations have been widely organized, some being attended by over 60 campesinos at a time. First the villagers are shown the proper equipment and told how it should be used. Practical demonstrations are given and then the campesinos try the method themselves.
Austria. Between 1951 and 1953, eight specialists carried out short-term assignments in Austria, assisting in the reactivation of forestry and forest industries, and the establishment of new forest research and forest products research institutes. One assignment of longer duration was concerned in part with providing professional liaison between the Government and the United States Mission of Economic Co-operation, and secondly with advising on reforestation, particularly faster and more economical methods of planting, including the introduction of a certain degree of mechanization of operations. A series of training courses for forest workers, students completing their technical training, and other groups, and a number of demonstration courses of various forestry operations intended mainly for small woodland owners, were initiated and are being continued. The conclusion of this assignment also marks the completion of FAO's technical assistance work in Austria in the field of forestry.
War-damaged area, caused by the explosion of ammunition dumps, still needing reforestation.
The Swiss Government was host to 23 exports from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia who participated, together with observers from the International Red Cross Association, in a study tour in the Alps from 27 June to 7 July 1954.
The primary purpose of this tour was to examine the measures taken in Switzerland for protection from avalanches. Organized by the Swiss Federal Inspection of Forests, Hunting and Fishing, it started at Davos where is established the Federal Institute for the Study of Snow and Avalanches, under the leadership of Dr. M. de Quervain. At the Institute's Headquarters, he and his collaborators first explained the present stage of development in anti-avalanche measures. Afterwards a visit was made to the laboratories and experimental fields at Weissfluhjoch, situated above the village at an altitude of 2,668 meters.
The metamorphosis of the snow and its behavior under varying conditions of stress, strain and temperature are studied in the cool-chambers of the laboratory and under natural conditions in the field, and the findings of this research are used in devising and building various types of structures designed to influence the snow mass and to create conditions unfavorable to the development of an avalanche. Conditions and methods are also studied for optimum safe release of avalanches by artificial means; advice and assistance is given to cantonal and communal authorities in their local avalanche problems; and regular meteorological bulletins and avalanche-danger warnings are issued.
During the rest of the tour, the experts were able to examine the practical effects of protection works set up to arrest, break up or deviate avalanches. These are essentially of two kinds:
(a) temporary, below the upper tree limit, and usually combined with tree planting programs to afford protection to villages, communications, and to the young trees themselves until such time as they have grown sufficiently strong to form a barrier to the passage or the starting of avalanches(b) permanent structures of a wide range of types and material built above the tree-limit or where afforestation is impossible.
In some localities, the evolution of anti-avalanche structures could be, examined, from the first terraces and remains of old dry-stone walling to the most modern types of snow-rakes and fences made of steel gable aluminium or pre-stressed concrete. Industry is collaborating in the research, manufacture and experimental work being carried out to discover the most suitable type of material and design for these structures, and for their foundations.
Members of the tour went first from Davos to Pontresina and the Schafberg zone which protects the village. The importance of well-established protective forest stands was constantly stressed. (In Austria, for example, despite a generally low upper tree-limit, it has been determined that three-fifths of all avalanches have their origin below that elevation, and therefore within the zone where forest can be established). Great care is given in Switzerland to ecological evidence at the upper tree-limit to help determine the best species to be used in planting, and whether preliminary plantings of other vegetation are necessary to create favorable soil conditions and microclimates. Everything is done to raise as far as possible the local upper tree-limit in all potentially dangerous areas.
In some oases the establishment of a road in connection with a protection project is either too difficult, too costly, or too slow for the urgency of the situation, and aerial ropeway systems must be used. But, in general, it is felt that roads should be given preference over gable transport singe they also represent enhanced facilities for control and improvement of pasture, forest management, tourism, ease of access for supplies to mountain populations and for the transport to market of dairy produce.
Check-trestle made of pre-stressed concrete. - By courtesy of Vobag, Switzerland.
Light metal snow-rake. - By courtesy of Rorschach, Switzerland.
From Pontresina the tour continued over the Julia Pass and past the Marmorera hydroelectric project, the largest earth dam of its kind in Europe. Here a law dating back to 1902 is enforced whereby compensatory afforestation must be carried out for any forest area cleared for other purposes.
Continuing to Sedrun, the deviation walls and triangular concrete breaking-trestles of the Platta-Baselgia area were visited. The latter are an alternative form of obstacle to the Austrian flattened conical arresting-mounds, and do less damage to the pastures by disturbing only a minimum of soil and its associated vegetation.
The next stage of the tour was to Andermatt in the Canton of Uri, over the Oberalp-pass. At the Santa-Brida (Tavetsch) and the Kirchberg protection projects, visited on the way, a new and interesting type of linked-triangular cable-netting was being tried out, with the collaboration of industrial interests.
From Andermatt, before turning west into the Cantons of Bern and Valais, the participants visited the Vallascia project on the St. Gotthard Pass above Airolo, in the Canton of Tessin, where a number of new types of structure in aluminium, pre-stressed concrete, and a combination of these with wood and metal rails were seen.
In the Valais, excursions were made along the Rhône and the Saas valleys where, among other items of interest, were the concrete open-faced tunnels under construction for the protection of parts of a recently opened motor road. Once again projects were visited where industry and public services are collaborating in research to ascertain the best types of structure, materials, foundations and spacing for different conditions of topography and soil.
The tour ended with a business meeting at which the participants agreed on a number of recommendations to governments relating to problems of torrent-control and protection from avalanches. Subjects discussed included first-aid measures, insurance, the creation of special services to warn against avalanche danger, and the need for standard annual records for the international exchange of information.
The alternative title of Silva Mediterranea was adopted for the Joint Subcommission on Mediterranean Forestry Problems by the fourth session held at Athens, 1 to 5 June. In this way it was possible to make a link in continuity with the pre-war Mediterranean association of foresters known by that title, and for recognition to be given to the importance of the work carried out by that body.
The Mediterranean Subcommission organized by FAO was originally a subsidiary body of the European Forestry Commission but is now a joint enterprise of this Commission and the Near East Forestry Commission. It is hoped to extend its field of action to all countries and areas having a Mediterranean-type climate.
Representatives of France (Metropolitan, Morocco, Tunisia), Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom (Cyprus) and Yugoslavia attended the session in Greece, and re-elected A. Pavari (Italy) as Chairman, with E. Gonzales Vázquez (Spain) and L. Markovic (Yugoslavia) as Vice-Chairmen. A study tour was arranged after the session to forest areas in the neighborhood of Corinthos, Patrai, Pyrgos, Amfissa, Lamia, Larissa, Trikala, Volos and Levadhia. The excellent arrangements for this tour by the Greek Forest Service enabled interesting on-the-spot discussions to be held on pine-tapping, torrent control, afforestation, use of eucalypts, land utilization, forest grazing, forest management, logging methods and construction of forest roads.
Delegates reported on their experience with planting eucalypts in the various countries of the Mediterranean basin. It was agreed that studies should be undertaken on planting and tending techniques and on adapting various species of eucalypts to habitats with particularly cold winters or dry summers, to calcareous soils, to salty lands and to very clayey soils. A special study tour was arranged for Morocco in October, and the meeting hoped that regional working parties to be concerned with eucalypts could be created within the FAO Latin American and Asia-Pacific Forestry Commissions. The idea was mooted of another tour in Australia, on the lines of the successful project organized in 1952.
In regard to afforestation techniques generally, it was decided after discussion to set up a permanent working party to study problems in arid areas in collaboration with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. 1
1 The new FAO regional forestry officer for the Near East, J. Moser. has lately bad considerable experience of this type of work in Libya. Mr. Moser, is replacing Mr. S.A. Vahid, who has had to resign his appointment owing to ill-health.
During the course of the session of the Subcommission, the permanent Working Party on Cork Oak held several meetings, under the chairmanship of J. V. Natividada (Portugal). It considered that the present economic situation was favorable to an expansion of cork oak cultivation. As a great part of the area to be consigned to cultivation of cork oak would be either natural grazing grounds with at present no, or very little, tree growth, or very rough land where soil conservation was of paramount importance, it was suggested that all countries concerned should closely follow the studies on Mediterranean land-use problems being undertaken by the Subcommission.
