Wood Production and Kraft Pulping of Short-Rotation Hardwoods in the Pacific Northwest

For decades foresters and fiber-using industries throughout the world have been concerned with the problem of future procurement of wood fiber. Research has progressed on several promising approaches to this problem, including fertilization, genetic improvement, better control of competition, and more complete utilization. Recently another alternative has been suggested --- the production of hardwood fiber on very short rotations with coppice regrowth. The concept was first proposed by McAlpine et al. (1966) under the name, silage sycamore . Since that time, tests of silage forestry have been initiated with other hardwood species in many regions of the United State and Canada (Steinbeck, 1973). The use of unmanaged forest weeds (better known as pucker brush) for a source of fiber has been promoted by Young (1972) in the northeastern United States