Research Area: Forest Service Strategic Goal 1: Reduce the risk from catastrophic wildland fire.
SPA: Fire
New uses for dead Alaskan yellow cedar
Key Contact: Bessie Woodward, bwoodward@fs.fed.us; and Patti Lebow, plebow@fs.fed.us Partners: Pacific Northwest Research Station, State and Private Forestry
Alaskan yellow cedar (AYC) trees can remain standing for up to a century after death from Alaska yellow-cedar decline because of the heartwood’s natural durability and superior strength. Standing snags accumulating in declining forests can average 65% of the AYC overall basal area. Economically viable opportunities for using this material would reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fire in declining AYC stands. Collaborative research between researchers at Forest Products Laboratory and PNW research station indicated that heartwood from dead AYC is suitable for many indoor and outdoor aboveground applications long after tree death, possibly due to slow changes in heartwood chemistry following death of this species.