Weekly Quiz: True or False – Trees Are Grown Solely to Make Paper

Answer: False.

The popularity of the phrase “Save a tree” has resulted in the general misunderstanding that trees are harvested to make paper alone. No, sir.

As a matter of fact, if you take a 40-foot maple tree:

  • The bottom 8 feet are used for high quality veneer
  • The next ~8 feet will be converted into lumber for furniture, flooring, etc.
  • The next section (including larger branches) is considered pulp wood, used for paper making and residential firewood
  • The uppermost portion will usually be chipped up for biomass (industrial fuel)

Trees truly are multi-purpose raw materials!

1 Comment
  1. Craig Robinson 8 months ago

    Trick question depends on the species ,
    Out where I live in state of Washington we have trees of exceptional, structural strength, like hemlock other exceptional qualities, like Cedars resistant to rot and nobody’s re-planting them hammocks take 300 years to reach maturity and can live up to 800. Cedar trees live hundreds of years many to 1000 if they hadn’t been cut in a few to 4000. I think any first growth we have which is almost nonexistent and second growth should be left alone I’m all in favor of tree, farming and properly maintaining our forest, making sure biodiversity I’m doing.
    Some of the pro we’re currently experiencing in the Pacific Northwest caused by the seed stock used when they re-planted any of the clear cuts come from trees.
    All in favor of growing fiber, I would rather look at a tree bamboo or hemp plant and a strip mall. Everybody needs to get ROI on their property..

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