Timber
About Timber
Timber is a renewable resource and forest products are an essential part of our daily lives. Throughout the day, we depend on timber products from the houses we live in, to the paper we write on, and countless products in between. According to the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC), New York State is sixty-one percent forested. With much of the forested land being owned by private landowners.
New York has over 100 different species of trees with three species, maple, beech, and birch, making up fifty-three percent of the total trees in New York State. Historically, timber was harvested through manual labor as lumberjacks used saws and axes to fell trees. As the timber industry has evolved, many lumber companies have added mechanization making harvesting timber more efficient and safer. Timber companies work with foresters to help identify the best practices for harvesting a stand of trees as well as what trees should be harvested.
There are two distinct categories of trees.
Deciduous Trees or Hardwood
Deciduous trees are trees that go through a cycle of flowering, leaf growth, and leaf loss. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn as temperatures drop and the amount of daylight decreases. During this time, the process of photosynthesis ceases and chlorophyll in the leaves begin to break down revealing other pigments that give fall leaves their brilliant color. During the winter, trees go into a dormant stage and utilize the energy they have stored from photosynthesis during the summer. In spring, trees use stored energy to put out new blooms of leaves and flowers. As the leaves fully open, trees start the process of creating and storing energy for the winter.
Coniferous/Evergreens Trees or Softwoods
Unlike deciduous trees, coniferous trees do not produce flowers for reproduction. Instead, coniferous trees produce seed cones. Trees will produce two types of cones: male and female. As these cones open, pollen from the male cone is carried by the wind to female cones. After being fertilized, female cones develop seeds which are later dispersed throughout the forest floor.
Coniferous trees have needles instead of broad leaves. These needles are covered in thick wax which prevents them from freezing. Most coniferous trees do not lose their needles in the fall like deciduous trees and do not enter a dormancy period during the cold winter months. Instead, the needles fall off as they age or are damaged. Exceptions are the larch and tamarack trees which lose their needles each fall.
Hard and Soft Wood Designations
As deciduous trees go through periods of growth and dormancy, they grow more slowly compared to coniferous trees which continue to grow through the year. Due to the slower growth rate of deciduous trees, the wood is often denser and heavier compared to the wood of coniferous trees. Because of this, deciduous trees are termed "hardwood" as they are often denser and harder to cut and shape compared to coniferous, "softwood" trees.
Trip to the Forest
Take a virtual field trip to a Gutchess Lumber harvest site, a real NY forest, to learn how a forest is managed, trees are harvested, and how harvested timber is prepared for trucking to a lumber mill.
Fun Facts
- Cornell University estimates that the timber industry in New York employs 60,000 people and generates around $4.6 billion dollars to the New York economy each year.