Background

The Breeding and production of conifers, Selection and testing of conifers and Tree and wood properties within Forest Research are large research programmes with a total budget of over £1 million. Their work is directed at practices supporting timber production and is intended to improve the competitiveness of the industry. In addition there are a number of other programmes of work, particularly in the area of timber quality, which are carried out by other research institutes and universities throughout Britain.

Funding to support research in conifer breeding and timber quality in Britain is reducing and yet the work is often costly due to the large element of fieldwork involved. It is critical to ensure any work carried out within Forest Research is efficient and properly targeted at the problems of concern to industry. It is also important to ensure that research across different organisations is complementary.

Remit

This steering group:

• Provides strategic direction and integration of purpose to the Forest Research programmes in conifer breeding and timber properties.
• Will provide an industry perspective and encourage a two-way flow of information between industry and researchers.
• Promotes better co-ordination and collaboration between the various research programmes involved in a bid to improve the competitiveness of British grown conifers.

Meetings

Meetings are organised by Forest Research and are held around Britain at different locations in order to emphasise the national remit of the group and also spread the travel load more between the different group members. Separate specialised meetings involving some of the group together with co-opted experts may take place to tackle particular issues such as Marker Aided Selection, clonal forestry, engineered wood-products, modelling etc.

24th September 2012

This meeting took place at Kilmun Forest Garden, Argyll.

• Minutes of 24/09/12 meeting ^(PDF-32K)
• Wood and timber properties programme update ^(PDF-867K)

26th October 2011

This meeting took place at Edinburgh Napier University.

• Minutes of 26/10/11 meeting ^(PDF-32K)
• Tree breeding and selection for the future ^(PDF-601K)
• Treemetrics ^(PDF-2374K)

23rd March 2010

This meeting took place at the Grizedale Information Centre, Lake District.

• Minutes of 23/3/10 meeting ^(PDF-29K)
• Choice of Douglas Fir seed origin within Great Britain ^(PDF-623K)
• South West forestry for future construction ^(PDF-564K)
• Update on the Sitka Spruce benchmarking study ^(PDF-540K)

11th June 2009

This meeting took place at the Northern Research Station.

• Minutes of 11/6/09 meeting ^(PDF-504K)
• Growth and yield models for improved Sitka spruce ^(PDF-701K)
• Timber quality models: links to growth models ^(PDF-2332K)
• Use of improved Sitka – a practitioners view ^(PDF-1345K)

27th November 2008

This meeting took place at the Cruickshank Building, Aberdeen University.

• Minutes of 27/11/08 meeting ^(PDF-382K)
• Determining the genetic heritability of wood properties of Sitka spruce critical to timber strength ^(PDF-1911K)
• Developing a timber quality model for Scots pine ^(PDF-1355K)
• Economics of planting improved Sitka spruce – Seed Orchard and VP ^(PDF-175K)
• Forestry Commission Scotland Timber Development Programme: Improving Timber Quality ^(PDF-247K)
• Juvenile wood: What is it, and why should we be concerned? ^(PDF-134K)
• Modelling Juvenile Wood ^(PDF-282K)
• Selection index weights for Sitka spruce ^(PDF-377K)

6th and 7th May 2008

This meeting took place at Abergavenny in Wales. Colin Forsyth chaired this meeting as the Steering Group visit Wales for the first time. The minutes are presented here along with other documents referred to in the minutes.

• Minutes of 6/5/08 meeting ^(PDF-128K)
• Forest Research Timber Properties Programme – Annual Progress Report – March 2008 ^(PDF-218K)
• Variation in the UK Sitka Spruce Resource: The Benchmarking Study ^(PDF-1312K)

5th December 2007

This took place at the Northern Research Station.

• Minutes of 5/12/07 meeting ^(PDF-36K)

25th June 2007

This meeting took place at the Northern Research Station. This was a purely business meeting chaired by Colin Forsyth. Presentation were given by invited speakers from Aberdeen University (Stuart Kennedy, PhD student) and Napier University (John Moore, Programme Leader).

• Minutes of 25/6/07 meeting ^(PDF-41K)
• Determining the genetic heritability of wood properties of Sitka spruce critical to timber strength ^(PDF-1557K)
• Wood quality – understanding the effects of genetics and spacing on timber properties ^(PDF-2228K)

1st November 2006

This meeting took place in Kielder Forest. The first part of the meeting included a visit to a progeny trial and two contrasting sites planted in 1997 with vegetatively propagated Sitka spruce. After lunch the business meeting took place under the (acting) Chairmanship of Richard Ogilvy in Kielder Castle. Thanks to Graham Gill for hosting the visit.

• Minutes of 1/11/06 meeting ^(PDF-56K)
• Elite Sitka Economics ^(PDF-56K)
• Objective of Using Acoustic Tools ^(PDF-1540K)

24th May 2006

This meeting took place in Falkirk, firstly at Callander’s sawmill and then at the Best Western Park Hotel under the Chairmanship of Colin Forsyth.

• Minutes of 24/5/06 meeting ^(PDF-46K)
• Current changes to the strength grading of UK softwoods – European harmonisation ^(PDF-111K)
• Kershope Progeny Trial and including results in Sitka Spruce timber quality model ^(PDF-426K)
• Choosing an improved Sitka spruce planting stock ^(PDF-87K)

21st Nov 2005

This first meeting of the new Steering Group took place at the Northern Research Station under the Chairmanship of Colin Forsyth.

• Minutes of 21/11/05 meeting ^(PDF-117K)
• Outputs from the previous Timber Quality Steering Group ^(PDF-23K)
• Where is the Timber Quality programme today? Options for the future ^(PDF-1096K)
• Where is conifer breeding at today? What are the options for the future? ^(PDF-365K)