- Posted By: Jaime Adler
- Written by: Steve Quarles, UCCE Forest Specialist
![The radiant panel at UNC-Charlotte used to test materials after the wetting agent was applied.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/forestrymgmt/blogfiles/7558small.jpg)
The ASTM E05.14 Subcommittee on Exterior Fire met today. Task groups that are developing standard test methods to evaluate vents and decking products updated the subcommittee on progress made since the last meeting (these committees meeting every six months, in early December and early June). All of these draft standards are in some stage of balloting at the subcommittee or main committee level.
Professor Joe Urbas, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, gave a presentation to the subcommittee on a research project that he has been working on. Professor Urbas has been evaluating the effectiveness of wetting agents applied to vegetation and building components in resisting radiant heat exposures. The wetting agents he evaluated...
- Posted By: Jaime Adler
- Written by: Steve Quarles, UCCE Forest Specialist
![ASTM members at the Research Review Session in Anaheim, CA.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/forestrymgmt/blogfiles/7501small.jpg)
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E05 on Fire Standards is meeting this week in Anaheim, California. ASTM is a standards writing organization. Today many task groups met to review and consider changes to standard test methods. For example, the task group that oversees ASTM E-84, Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials met. This test is used to determine the flame spread rating (Class A, B, or C) for construction materials, and is one of the measures used to describe the performance of deck boards that comply with Chapter 7A of the California Building Code. Chapter 7A is the state code that applies to new construction in California. Today it was announced that a...
- Posted By: Jaime Adler
- Written by: Bill Stewart, UCCE Forest Specialist
![log truck](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/forestrymgmt/blogfiles/7366small.png)
Making estimates of the life cycle benefits of harvested sawlogs are now required as part of every timber harvest plan in California. While forest managers are intimately familiar with what happens in the forest and at the landing, we are dependent on others to synthesize current and historical data to come up with accurate estimates of the ‘carbon footprint’ of sawlogs after they have left our control. Unfortunately, a number of the common calculators used in California to estimate the life cycle benefits from sawlogs depend on historic and poorly documented estimates that significantly undercount the climate benefits of harvested products. This post highlights some noticeable differences between accounting systems...
- Posted By: Richard B Standiford
- Written by: Richard B. Standiford
![Loading logs](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/forestrymgmt/blogfiles/7235small.jpg)
Although the weak housing markets have continued to suppress prices for logs and stumpage for California forest landowners, there has been tremendous growth in opportunities from the export market. This has largely been driven by surges in the demand for west coast logs in China. According to the International Wood Markets Group, Inc. (http://www.woodmarkets.com), the final statistics for 2010 showed that log imports by China increased 22% by in total volume and 49% by value from 2009. This increased demand, coupled with log tarrifs in Russia, have had the effect of increasing the demand for logs from the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. This trend appears to be continuing and both the...
- Posted By: Jaime Adler
- Written by: Gareth J Mayhead
I attended the “Wildfire 2” (AKA Building on Science to Implement Landscape Level Treatments for Fire Resilience) conference in McClellan last week. The conference, organized by UC Cooperative Extension and the Forest Service, was a follow-up to the Pre- and Post-Wildfire Forest Management Conference held in February 2010. Wildfire 2 built on the foundations of knowledge presented at the first conference and aimed to look at some of the broader social sustainability impacts of collaboratively based forest management.