Analysis of the Contribution to the Domestic Timber Industry according to the Shortening of Final Age

Abstract

Objectives The domestic forest area is about 6,298 thousand ha as of 2020, accounting for 62.7% of the national land area of 10,041 thousand ha, but the domestic wood and wood product market is seriously dependent on imported products. As of 2020, the domestic wood utilization rate is 15.9%. This has been secured from around 5% by 1990 to about 16% by the last 10 years from '11 to '20, but has been maintained without increase until '21. As domestic demand for wood is 83% dependent on imports, uncertainties in the wood market in the international market are expected to increase in the future due to climate change, resource reporting, and international trade relations. Methods In this study, the production and collection production of domestic wood by use were calculated by reducing the actual distribution nationwide and the number of trees being planted later by 5 to 10 years, respectively. Based on 2,310 thousand ha, the research target site was divided into 26.20% and 73.80% of national forests and private forests, respectively, and the corresponding cutting age was applied by matching them by tree type. Results and Discussion The area subject to the logging order for timber production forests was calculated as a ratio of the actual logging area, and the result was calculated as a ratio of the actual logging amount. Afterwards, the final wood volume was calculated based on the results of the actual logging volume performance and the ratio of domestic wood production and collection performance. The calculated final volume of wood is produced for lumber, plywood, boards, chips/pulp, and other uses. As a result, when the harvesting age was shortened to 5 and 10 years as of 2020, timber increased at a rate of approximately 12.70% and 25.36% compared to the previous year. It was confirmed that this could increase the domestic wood utilization rate from about 16% to up to 20%. Conclusion In this study, the contribution of the domestic timber industry to the shortening of the harvesting period for timber production forests. It is believed that the results can be used as useful indicators for establishing policies for shortening the cutting period and managing persistent forests in the future.

Keywords

• final age
• age class
• representative afforestation tree species
• timber industry
• circular economy