By purchasing your wood from members of the FAA you can be confident that the wood has been harvested legally from sustainable sources and that biodiversity and threatened species have been protected. This is because compliance with the Voluntary Code of Practice for Firewood Merchants is a mandatory condition of membership in the FAA. The Code of Practice was developed by an Inter-Government Taskforce made up of representatives from the environment departments of all States, as well as the federal environment Department. Laws controlling the harvesting of firewood vary considerably from state to state, but all of them are designed to protect biodiversity. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Control Act has an overarching role in the protection of threatened or vulnerable species habitat. In some states the harvesting of dead trees is exempt from native vegetation protection controls.
The CRC for Greenhouse Accounting and Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) have published a good summary of the role of firewood and other forest products in the carbon cycle called Forests, Wood and Australia’s Carbon Balance.
A short report titled Carbon Storage and Climate Change has been published by Vision 2020. It focuses on the carbon sequestration values of managed forests and plantations. The benefit of utilising residues and salvage from forestry operations as firewood is noted in the report as: “The use of wood waste in bio-fuels and for bio-energy is a further mechanism whereby plantations and native forest residues can be used to lower greenhouse gas emissions, by substituting for the use of fossil fuels”
So, if you love a wood fire, whether for warmth, flavoursome food, or its’ mood changing ambience, relax – because you are also doing the best you can for the environment.
Although some local councils have placed restrictions on wood heater installations in recent years it is extremely unlikely that this will be widespread. The Penrith council proposed a state wide ban for NSW a couple of years ago but this was rejected by the Local Government & Shires Association. Wood heaters are in fact becoming more popular as energy and utility costs continue to rise. As long as wood heater users operate their heaters responsibly and do not emit large amounts of smoke, councils will have no reason to ban wood heaters.
Water is present in all living trees as sap. Depending on the species there can be more water in wood by weight than there is wood fibre. Moisture content in wood is expressed as the percentage of water by weight compared to the weight of oven dried wood. If the weight of water in a piece of wood is the same as the oven dried weight of the wood then the moisture content is 100%. For wood to burn well it needs to be less than 25%, preferably between 12% and 20%. Except in very dry climates 12% is as low as wood moisture content will get.
The best way to tell if wood is dry enough to burn is to test it with an electrical resistance moisture meter. FAA members will have one of these. Otherwise you can usually pick dry wood from green by its weight, it will feel comparatively heavy. Or you can split a piece in half and see if the middle is a lot darker than the outside. The surface of freshly split wood will also feel cool to the touch if it is green due to the water evaporating. As a rough rule of thumb it will take about 6-12 months for green wood to get below 25% if it has been cross-cut into 300 mm rounds (this depends on the diameter of the log and the initial moisture content).
The answer to this question is definitely no. In some parts of the world and in earlier times mankind has totally cleared the landscape of trees. In Australia, as in most developed countries, the area under forests is now actually increasing. Human activities will undoubtedly change the nature and type of forest, but most governments now recognise the value of this renewable resource. On private land plantations targeted to produce firewood are increasing. For the time being though, the last 14 years of drought have resulted in an enormous number of trees dying in the lower rainfall regions. This will provide a secure supply of quality firewood for many years. Every year more trees die and are replaced with new ones. The recent floods will create an ideal situation for germination of River Red Gums, these will be a source of potential firewood in 50-100 years as they too die.
The rail track environment makes it certain that all sleepers will be contaminated to some extent by grease, oil, herbicides and heavy metals. The fumes given off when these products are heated can be toxic. So it is best to avoid them. Some old sleepers may even contain deadly asbestos fibres from the brakes that were in use until mid 1980’s. A further risk is from small stones which become embedded in the sleepers. These can explode in the heat of a fire.
Smoke is caused by the incomplete combustion of gasses given off when wood is burnt. The most common cause for this is incorrect operation of a slow combustion heater. If the air flow to the fire is closed off before the fire has reached correct operating temperature, the fire will smoke. The air vent to the fire needs to be left open for at least 15 minutes after wood is added to ensure the fire is hot enough to fully combust the gasses. This is a common problem and easy to fix. Smoke can also be caused by burning green wood or by a blocked chimney which restricts air flow. Both have the effect of cooling the fire below the correct temperature. If a fire is operating properly, you should not see any smoke from the chimney after the initial warm up period.
As long as you have purchased your wood from sustainable sources, you are actually helping the environment by heating your home with wood instead of gas or electricity. Wood is renewable bioenergy. It is recommended that environmentally aware wood users either buy their wood from FAA members or collect it from permitted areas. Collecting wood from roadsides and reserves can remove the protection it affords some wildlife, exposing it to predators such as feral cats and foxes. A CSIRO study in 2003 showed that firewood is virtually greenhouse neutral and is a useful way to reduce the carbon pollution from gas and coal energy use.
The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council’s Firewood Taskforce has defined seven environmentally acceptable sources for sustainable firewood:
A 2003 life-cycle study conducted by CSIRO for the Australian Greenhouse Office concluded that firewood is better than all of the commonly used sources of heat energy (see chart below). The reason is that the CO2 emitted from a wood fire is the same as the quantity of CO2 that is released when the wood rots and breaks down naturally.
For any fire to start and keep going three things are needed, fuel, oxygen and heat. In wood fires the fuel is provided by the wood, the oxygen comes from the air, and the initial heat comes from burning paper or a fire lighter. In a going fire the heat is provided by the already burning wood.
There is nothing like the pleasure of a wood fire on a cold night. However, just like driving a car, operating a wood heater requires not only a certain amount of skill but also an obligation to be socially responsible. Prolonged exposure to wood smoke is not only unpleasant but is known to have negative health effects.
Wood is sold in two main ways, by weight (tonnes or kilograms) or by volume (cubic metres). It is an offence under the National Measurement Act to sell less than the stated quantity.
Wood fired heating is growing in popularity all over the world. In Australia, wood heater sales continue to grow steadily. The rising cost of gas and electricity is one reason, but the charm of a wood fire is a major motivation, along with a growing recognition that firewood qualifies as a renewable, sustainable energy source.
Water makes up most of the sap of living trees. Water in the sap is called ‘free water’ because it can move through the wood cells and vessels reasonably easily. Water is also present in the cellulose structure that makes up the cell walls. This water is called “combined water”.
In recent years the word sustainable has become a commonly used – and often misused – adjective. Sustainable has joined words such as “pristine” and “fragile” as iconic environmental descriptors.
Although all wood will burn, not all wood is safe to burn. When wood that has been chemically treated with preservatives or contaminated by other substances is burnt it can give off fumes which may be harmful, or even fatal. This is especially so when this type of wood is burnt in an open fire, brazier or chiminea, or used as barbeque fuel.
In recent times there has been a resurgence in the use of wood fires for cooking. No longer is it just the old backyard barbecue or the occasional campfire. Wood fired pizza restaurants are appearing in most suburbs. Mobile wood fired pizza ovens and spit roasts can be hired for parties and small wood fired ovens for home cooking.
Cutting firewood from already dead trees is a good choice because the wood is often dry enough to burn immediately. However, dead standing trees and fallen trees and branches are important components of the ecosystem, providing habitat, nesting sites and protection against predators for many native animals.
Use of fossil fuels is the main cause of the increase in atmospheric CO2, which in turn is a major cause of global warming. Sustainable firewood production systems have the potential to reduce fossil fuel use and attendant CO2 emissions.
While the storage of carbon in forests is well understood, the important contribution that wood (both in service and after disposal) makes to carbon storage is less well-recognised.
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