Future of building: Birkenholz as a new secret weapon for the wooden industry!

Future of building: Birkenholz as a new secret weapon for the wooden industry!

The future of the wooden industry faces major challenges. Due to climate change, many spruce forests are badly damaged. Bark beetles in particular and long -lasting drought have caused massive damage. In North Rhine-Westphalia, both the spruce stocks in the Sauerland and in the Bergisches Land are badly affected. In view of the increasing need for wood in the construction industry, the search for alternative types of wood is gaining in importance.

The Aachen University of Applied Sciences opened a laboratory for wooden building research in Simmerath last year. Tom Jansen leads the studies on the strength and elasticity of birch wood. The focus is on establishing birch as high -quality timber, since it is currently mainly used as firewood. Machines in the new laboratory test the resilience of wooden walls and beams made of birch wood. This could revolutionize the value chain of wood use in the long term.

potential of the birch and adaptation of the building regulations

The existing building regulations in Germany are currently not designed for the use of birch wood. Stefanie Wieland and Lukas Emmerich from the Center for Forest and Woodwork have the task of adapting the standards to integrate birch as building materials. For this it is necessary to improve the care of birch forests to ensure higher wood quality.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, 7% of the forest area are now planted with birches. This initiative could be a sustainable way to counter the challenges of dryness, especially when deciduous trees such as the birch, coastal fir, red oak and noble chestnut are encouraged. Some tree species, such as the Nordmann fir, show promising potential as a wood supplier due to their dry resistance.

challenges and perspectives of the wooden industry

The uncertainty about the use and pricing of leaf wood represents another obstacle that makes afforestation difficult. As a result, the value chain for wood is strongly geared towards the spruce, which is critical in view of the current climatic challenges. The timber construction quota in Germany has increased in recent decades-from 12% in the 2000s to 22% to the present day. In North Rhine-Westphalia, wooden structures can be up to 25 meters high, which further increases the attractiveness of wood as building materials.

Developments in the wooden industry show that it is necessary to react to the changed conditions with innovative approaches and adaptive management. The Center for Wood Building Research in the Eifel is constantly looking for solutions for different types of wood and their properties during this process. The aim is to develop norms for building with birch wood within the next 10 to 20 years in order to enable a sustainable and environmentally friendly future of the construction industry.