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Rural people living around forests in Ethiopia depend on income from forest product collection as one of their livelihood activities. The forests of Sheka are threatened by unsustainable use and conversion to alternative land uses. This study was conducted to identify and quantify income from major forest products collected from the Sheka forest and examine factors that determine income from forest product collection. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from primary and secondary sources. By stratified random sampling method, three kebeles were selected from the Masha district and 156 households were randomly selected from those kebeles and interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were determined by SPSS and STATA software. Multiple linear regression models were employed to determine the relationship between socio-economic factors and forest income. The result indicates 17 major forest product were collected and contributes an average of $1553.75 or 41.17% of their total annual income and was the highest contributor to total income. Forest income varies with agro-ecology and distance from the nearby markets in the study area. Households in the study area utilize more forest products for home consumption. Incomes from forest product collection are significantly related to the level of education of the household head, family size, and distance of home from the forest and market. Households in the study area depend to a higher degree on income from forest product collection and have an implication of sustainable management of forests in the long term.

Abstract Wood-based industry is one of the main drivers of economic growth in Malaysia. Forest being the source of various lignocellulosic materials has many untapped potentials that could be exploited to produce sustainable and biodegradable nanosized material that possesses very interesting features for use in wood-based industry itself or across many different application fields. Wood-based products sector could also utilise various readily available nanomaterials to enhance the performance of existing products or to create new value added products from the forest. This review highlights recent developments in nanotechnology application in the wood-based products industry.

Dayak Meratus tribe is the native tribe that lives in the forest area of Meratus Mountain. Biological basic data on plant biodiversity in the area, particularly plants utilized by Dayak Meratus tribe, have not been much discovered. The research are: (1) to discover the traditional characteristic and knowledge of Dayak Meratus tribe, (2) to determine the priority of plants to be conserved, (3) to study local government policy in the forest resources management and, (4) to determine the strategy of priority plants conservation. Research was conducted at Meratus Mountain forest area, Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency and Herbarium Bogoriense, Biological Research and Development Center of LIPI, Bogor, from July to September 2002. Determination of priority plants is based on 4 criteria: (1) Index of Cultural Significance that consists of three value, that are: quality of use, intensity of use, exclusivity of use, (2) Distribution, (3) Status in the nature area (wild, semi domesticated, domesticated/cultivated), and (4) the characteristic of use/utilization by the community (commercial, subsistence). The number of plant species used by Dayak Meratus Tribe is 240 species of 18 use characteristic, 2 species endemic, 14 species rare, 111 species have more than one utilization function, 20 medicinal plants can be used as a consideration in changing the status of protected forest to conservation areas with status of national park.

Wooden housing is one of the most sustainable building alternatives. In many European and North American countries, wooden houses provide the most common, economical, and practical solution for construction. The timber buildings present adequate levels of durability, acoustics, and thermal comforts. Despite their popularity, wood houses do not have a standardized classification to define and organize their main aspects. In literature dealing with timber construction, most authors emphasize structural systems for large spans (bridges, hangars, roofs, etc.). The presence of some classifications of timber construction results in unclear issues, and few studies have covered and regarded wooden buildings as residential construction typologies. Accordingly, this paper proposes a classification that connects the aspects and details of wooden housing materials in relation to the industrialization level and chronological origin. We expect this classification to assist in a better understanding of distinct wooden housing techniques commercially produced worldwide, diffusing their concepts and possibilities as forestry-timber products.

O segmento de celulose e papel contribui de forma significativa para a economia brasileira. O conhecimento da estrutura do mercado de celulose é fundamental para fins de planejamento da produção, comercialização e previsão para o setor. Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal especificar e estimar a oferta e demanda brasileira de celulose, bem como a oferta e a demanda de exportação, no período de 1969 a 2005. Os resultados, usando o método dos Mínimos Quadrados de Dois Estágios (MQ2E), indicaram que a oferta e a demanda interna de celulose, bem como a oferta e a demanda de exportação, são preço-inelástico. A demanda interna é inelástica com relação à renda. Já a demanda de exportação é elástica com relação à renda. A oferta interna é mais sensível a variações no preço das máquinas e equipamentos. A oferta de exportação é sensível a variações na produção e no consumo interno e a demanda de exportação, a variações na renda dos países importadores.The wood pulp and paper sector contributes significantly for the Brazilian economy. The knowledge of the wood pulp market structure is important for production planning, commercialization and forecast for the sector. The main objective of the present study it to specify and estimate the domestic supply and demand of wood pulp, as well as the export supply and demand functions, in the period from 1969 to 2005. The results provided by' the two-stage least squares method (TSLS) indicated that domestic and export supply and demand of wood pulp are price inelastic. The domestic demand is inelastic in relation to income while the export demand is elastic in relation to income. The domestic supply is more affected by changes in machinery and equipment prices. The export supply is affected by changes in production and domestic demand while the export demand is affected by changes in the income of the importing countries.

Este trabalho teve por objetivos especificar e estimar a demanda brasileira de importação de borracha natural, no período de 1964 a 2005. As variáveis explicativas do modelo de demanda de importação foram: preço de importação da borracha natural, PIB per capita, taxa de câmbio, taxa de juros, quantidade de borracha natural produzida internamente e tendência. As estimativas obtidas utilizando o modelo de ajustamento parcial confirmaram que as variáveis explicativas afetam, significativamente, a demanda brasileira de importação de borracha natural. Os resultados apontaram que a demanda brasileira de importação de borracha natural é inelástica com relação ao preço de importação e à renda; é pouco sensível a variações no preço de importação, à taxa de câmbio, à renda e à taxa de juros, mas é sensível às variações na quantidade de borracha natural produzida internamente, no curto e longo prazos; e a borracha natural é um bem normal.This work aimed to specify and estimate the Brazilian import demand for natural rubber from 1964 to 2005. The variables applied to explain import demand were: natural rubber import price, GNP per capita, exchange nominal rate (R$/US$), "overnight" interest rate, natural rubber domestic production and trend. The estimates showed that the variables significantly affected the Brazilian import demand for natural rubber. The results indicated that the Brazilian import demand for natural rubber is inelastic in relation to import price and income; little sensitive to variations in import price, exchange nominal rate (R$/US$), income and "overnight" interest rate but it is sensitive to domestic rubber production variations , in the short and long runs; and that natural rubber is a regular commodity.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a relação da produção de sementes de árvores nativas de castanha-do-brasil com características morfométricas da copa e índices de competição. Os dados foram coletados em florestas nativas no Sul do Estado de Roraima, com 88 árvores amostradas em diferentes classes de produtividade. Em cada árvore, foram medidas as variáveis dendrométricas e foram determinados os índices morfométricos da copa e os índices de competição, dependentes e independentes da distância. As relações entre a morfometria, os parâmetros da copa e os índices de competição com a produção de sementes foram obtidas com o coeficiente de correlação de Spearman e os testes de Kruskal-Wallis e Mann-Witney. Para inferir as relações entre as variáveis morfométricas da copa e o diâmetro do tronco, utilizou-se a análise de regressão linear pelo procedimento "stepwise". As árvores mais produtivas foram aquelas com posições superiores no dossel, que apresentam copas bem formadas, mais compridas e com menor relação altura/diâmetro. A competição teve pouco efeito sobre a produção de sementes, em árvores adultas que começam a produzir frutos somente após atingirem as posições superiores do dossel.The aim of this work was to evaluate the relationship of seed yield of Brazil-nut native trees to crown morphometric characteristics and competition indexes. The data were collected in 88 sample trees, in natural forests in the South of Roraima State, Brazil, regarding different productivity classes. In each tree, the dendrometric variables, the indexes of morphometry and competition (distance dependent and independent) were measured. The relationships between crown morphometric variables and competition indexes to seed yield were obtained through the Spearman correlation coefficient and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. A linear regression analysis, through the stepwise procedure, was used to infer crown relations among morphometric variables and the diameter at breast height. The most productive trees were those with upper canopy positions, wich showed well-formed and longer crowns, and smaller height/diameter relationships. Competition showed nonsignificant effect on seed yield, in adult trees that start to produce fruits only after reaching the upper canopy positions.

Este estudo teve como objetivos analisar a estrutura arbórea e valorar uma floresta secundária de várzea baixa. A área de estudo está localizada na propriedade florestal da Exportadora de Madeiras do Pará Ltda. - EMAPA, município de Afuá, Estado do Pará. A área inventariada corresponde a 12,5 ha, onde foram medidos todos os espécimes arbóreos com DAP > ou = 15,0 cm. Verificou-se a ocorrência de 73 espécies, que totalizaram 357,7 indivíduos/ha e área basal de 23,4 m²/ha. As espécies mais importantes do ambiente estudado foram Virola surinamensis, Symphonia globulifera, Eschweilera coriacea, Pentaclethra macroloba e Astrocaryum murumuru. Entre os grupos de uso foi verificado que as espécies não-comerciais apresentaram o maior número de toras comercializáveis (24,3 toras/ha), seguidas das espécies comerciais (16,2 toras/ha) e das potenciais (12,9 toras/ha). A receita potencial de toras/ha foi de US$ 501,70 e a de palmito/ha foi de US$ 68,50.The aim of this paper was to analyze tree structure and value a secondary low floodplain forest. The study area is located at EMAPA forest lands, in the county of Afuá, in the state of Pará. The inventoried area presents 12.5 ha, where all the tree specimens with DBH > or = 15.0 cm were measured. A total of 73 species were identified, corresponding to 357.7 individuals/ha and a 23.4 m²/ha basal area, the most important being Virola surinamensis, Symphonia globulifera, Eschweilera coriacea, Pentaclethra macroloba and Astrocaryum murumuru. Among the categories, the non-commercial species showed the highest number of marketable boles (24.3/ha), followed by the commercial (16.2/ha) and potential ones (12.9 boles/ha). The boles and the heartpalms provided a potential income of US$ 501.70/ha and US$ 68.50/ha, respectively.