Forests and Wood and Architecture. Facts and Figures and a Talk.

Austria is a densely wooded country. People have cared for and managed its forests for generations; wood is harvested and used as a raw material. In order to understand the importance of the forest ecosystem and of the use of wood for the economy and the climate, our exhibition and website gathers together the most important facts and figures.

The Austrian forest is a multifunctional habitat. If we are to ensure that it will still be able to fulfil all its functions in the future, we must continue to manage it sustainably as we transform it into a climate-fit forest.

The raw material wood grows continuously in the forest and is available sustainably. The timber industry is an important economic sector in Austria and provides many jobs.

The climate protection impact is based on the storage of carbon in the forest and in timber products as well as on the substitution effect that results when wood replaces materials that produce CO₂.

Half of Austria is forest. With 48 per cent forest cover, Austria is the most densely wooded country in the European Union after Finland and Sweden. In Austria, forests perform several functions at the same time. They protect against natural risks, clean the water and the air, store carbon, and provide a habitat for many species and a recreation space for people. The forest supplies wood – which is the most important raw material that Austria has at its disposal and also underpins Austria’s leading know-how in the areas of forest management, wood processing and timber building technology.

The area of forest is constantly expanding. Every year, Austria’s forests increase in size by the equivalent of 3,200 football pitches. Areas covered by forest should also remain forest. This principle was first anchored in the Imperial Forest Law of 1853 and incorporated into the Austrian Forest Law more than 100 years later. This rule remains effective to this day: rather than decreasing, the area of forest in Austria is increasing. An average of 2,300 hectares is added every year, which corresponds to 3,200 football pitches. In the last 50 years, the area of forest has increased by more than the area of the province of Vorarlberg. This growth is the result of both reforestation and the natural spread of the forest.

Most forests are privately owned. In Austria, 81 per cent of the total area of forest is private forest and just 19 per cent public forest. Around half of this private forest belongs to the owners of small forests of less than 200 hectares. Most of these are family-owned forests, which cover an average of just nine hectares (the equivalent of 13 football pitches). The public forest is largely owned by the federal government and is cared for and managed by Österreichische Bundesforste. Regardless of whether a forest is privately or publically owned, the public should be able to access it and use it for recreational purposes at all times.

Austria’s forests are cultural forests. They have been sustainably managed, cared for and maintained by people for centuries. The forest does not only supply the raw material wood; besides this utilitarian function, it also has welfare, protective and recreational functions. In Austria, sustainable forest management ensures that these various functions of the forest are not mutually exclusive but, rather, can be performed equally, at the same time and on the same piece of land. This is known as multifunctional forest management. From the global perspective, this multifunctional aspiration is far from self-evident, but it has been anchored in the Forest Law in Austria since 1975.

We must ensure that forests are climate fit. Active forest management is essential in order to support forests as they adapt to climate change. The impact of increasing global warming is being felt in the form of falling levels of rainfall and increasing levels of drought. This is changing the growing conditions of trees. Due to their long growth cycles, they are unable to adapt naturally and with the necessary urgency to these comparatively rapidly occurring changes to the climate. The spruce is particularly affected due to its shallow roots and need for a good supply of water. Active forest management supports the process of adapting to these new climatic conditions by, for example, using seeds from warmer regions. It creates climate-fit forests by increasing the diversity of tree species and adapting forests accordingly. In future, there will be more mixed forests and a higher proportion of deciduous trees.

The area of forest in the EU is growing. While forests are getting smaller at the global scale, forest cover in the EU is increasing by the area of 1,000 football pitches every day. Thirty-eight per cent of the European Union is covered with forest, which represents around four per cent of global forests. In the EU, the area of forest is increasing by 2,700 square kilometres every year. Eighty-five per cent of the area of forest in the EU is exploited commercially. Thanks to sustainable forest management, wood reserves are also increasing. Since 1990, these have grown by 49 per cent. At the global scale, however, forest is lost every year. Most of this loss occurs in tropical zones. It results from fires and from logging that is carried out to clear land for food and feed production or to create living space.

More wood grows than is harvested. Eleven per cent of the new wood that grows every year in Austria remains in the forest. Every year, 29.2 million cubic metres of wood (reserve volume) grow in Austria’s forests. Or, put another way: one cubic metre of wood grows every second. The scale of these raw material deposits means that a wide variety of uses is possible. Enough wood is available for use as a building material: less than a third of the new wood that grows every year would be needed in order to realise all the new buildings constructed annually in Austria as timber buildings. In order to ensure long-term availability, only around 26.0 million cubic metres of wood (reserve volume) are harvested every year. The rest remains in the forest, continuously increasing wood reserves.

Wood reserves are growing constantly. In the last 50 years, Austria’s wood reserves have increased by more than 50 per cent. Austria’s forests currently have very high wood reserves. Given the increasing risk of damaging events there is now a strong argument for using these reserves in good time, especially if the wood is old. After the removal of treetops, roots, branches and bark, the 26.0 million cubic metres (reserve volume) of wood that are harvested every year result in a cut volume of 19.2 million cubic metres (harvested volume). Dependent upon its characteristics, this wood is used as sawlogs, industrial timber or wood fuel.

Wood is processed regionally. The sawing industry is the largest wood processor in Austria. It obtains its raw material from regional catchment areas.The Austrian sawing industry is one of the world’s ten largest producers of sawn timber. It processes around 17 million cubic metres of timber every year and is the starting point for many uses of wood, especially its use as a building material. The sawing industry draws most of its raw material from Austria and almost all of the rest from neighbouring countries, with the radius of the catchment area generally not exceeding 150 kilometres. Sixty per cent of its sawn products are exports. Hence, the sawing industry makes a key contribution to Austria’s positive external trade balance.

Wood creates jobs. Every 14th job in Austria results from the use of wood. Wood is the basis of one of the most important sectors of Austria’s economy. The entire value chain of the timber industry, from the raw material to the processed end products and the associated services, makes a major economic contribution to the national accounts. It provides 320,000 jobs and generates gross value added of 27.8 billion euros. Every 13th euro of Austria’s economic output can be traced back to the use of wood. The processing of each cubic metre of wood (harvested volume) generates gross value added of up to 1.667 euros for the Austrian economy.

Forests are huge carbon sinks. Active forest management and the use of wood maintain and optimise the climate protection impact of forests.Trees remove CO₂ from the atmosphere as they grow and store this carbon in their wood. This is then released when trees die and rot, returning the CO₂ to the atmosphere. Sustainable forestry ensures that trees are harvested at the right time and that new trees grow in their place. This is good for the climate because young forests absorb more CO₂ than old ones. Most CO₂ is absorbed when a forest is between 40 and 60 years old, after which the absorption rate of CO₂ declines. The carbon remains stored in the wood of the harvested trees as long as this is used as a material and not as fuel.

Using wood is active climate protection. One cubic metre of wood absorbs one tonne of CO₂. Wood products extend the role of the forest as a carbon sink. The carbon remains stored – and, hence, the CO₂ remains locked away – throughout the life of the product. An even greater climate protection impact results when wood replaces other materials, whose production generates CO₂ emissions. Due to this so-called substitution effect, products made every year in Austria from Austrian wood are responsible for preventing the emission of eight million tonnes of CO₂.

Building with wood protects the climate over the long term. When we build with wood, we are building a second forest of houses. Building with wood is a very long-term form of using wood. Timber buildings last for decades, during which their carbon remains stored. At the same time, new trees are growing in the forest, actively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Besides this ecological argument, there are many other arguments for using wood as a building material: The high degree of prefabrication of timber buildings ensures a high quality of execution.

Prefabrication shortens construction periods – this brings huge benefits, especially for urban buildings.

Wood combines low weight with a high loadbearing capacity. This is a key advantage for projects that add extra levels to existing buildings or densify the urban fabric.

Timber building is suitable for almost any project and offers huge design diversity.

Wood has agreeable haptic and optical qualities – this creates a positive spatial atmosphere and high quality of living.

Wood leaves no waste. Wood can be reused many times in the material cycle. Wood is a product that leaves no waste because every part of it is used along the length of the value chain and nothing is lost. For example, harvested wood is processed into sawn timber, producing shavings, woodchips and wood waste that are source materials for the panel and paper industries or are converted into energy in the form of pellets. In addition to this, following its initial use, wood can be reused many times. The more often wood products undergo this ‘cascade’ recycling, the longer the carbon remains stored.

Source: proHolz Austria, www.proholz.at