Pulpwood can be defined as timber that is ground and processed into a fibrous pulp. It is a versatile natural resource commonly used for paper-making but also made into low-grade wood and used for chips, energy, pellets, and engineered products.[1]Harvesting a stand of eucalyptus pulpwood in Australia.
Pulpwood can be derived from most types of trees. Categorizing trees into hardwood and softwood is the easiest way to characterize types of paper produced from pulpwood.[1]
Hardwoods are raw material that are preferred for pulp used in printing papers. It has small dimensions in its fibres, which can be useful for small-scale uniformity, opacity, and surface smoothness, all important for printing paper.[2]
Softwoods are the preferred raw material for strong papers, due to the length and slimness of the fibres. Low-density softwoods, such as firs with thin-walled fibres are preferred for papers with high demands for bonding-related strength characteristics. Some of these characteristics include tensile, burst, and surface strength.[2]
Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 15% of world pulp production, while old growth forests account for 9% and second/third plus generation forests account for the balance.[3]
