Softwood
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Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the softwoods completely lack vessels (pores).[1] The main softwood species (pines, spruces, larches, false tsugas) also have resin canals (or ducts) in their structure.[2]
Characteristics
Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as pines and spruces. Softwoods are not necessarily softer than hardwoods.[3] The hardest hardwoods are much harder than any softwood,[4] but in both groups there is enormous variation with the range of wood hardness of the two groups overlapping. For example, balsa wood, which is a hardwood, is softer than most softwoods, whereas the longleaf pine, Douglas fir, and yew softwoods are much harder than several hardwoods.[citation needed]
Several specific natural, macroscopic and microscopic features of wood are used in the identification process of a softwood species.[5]
Softwoods are generally most used by the construction industry and are also used to produce paper pulp, and card products.[6] In many of these applications, there is a constant need for density and thickness monitoring and gamma-ray sensors have shown good performance in this case.[7]
Certain species of softwood are more resistant to insect attack from woodworm, as certain insects prefer damp hardwood.
Examples of softwood trees and uses
- Douglas fir - joinery, doors and heavy construction
- Eastern white pine - furniture
- European spruce - used throughout construction, panelling and cladding
- Larch - cladding and boats
- Lodgepole pine - roofing, flooring and in making chipboard and particle board[8]
- Monterey pine
- Parana pine - stair treads and joinery (critically endangered)
- Scots pine - construction industry, mostly for interior work
- Sitka spruce[9]
- Southern yellow pine - joinery, flooring and decking
- Western hemlock - doors, joinery and furniture
- Western red cedar (or red cedar) - furniture, decking, cladding, and roof shingles
- Yew - interior and exterior furniture (e.g., chairs, gate posts and wood turning)
Applications
Softwood is the source of about 70% of the world's annual production of lumber,[10] with traditional centers of production being mainly the US and Canada, Russia, China, Germany, and Scandinavia.[11] Softwood is typically used in construction as structural carcassing timber, as well as finishing timber.
See also
- List of woods
- United States – Canada softwood lumber dispute
- Hardwood
- Janka hardness test
- Brinell scale
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Softwood Anatomy". The Wood Database. 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bond, Brian; Hamner, Peter, Wood Identification for Hardwood and Softwood Species Native to Tennessee
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buckley, Michael (2005). "A basic guide to softwoods and hardwoods" (PDF). worldhardwoods.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Ten Hardest Woods | The Wood Database". Retrieved 2024-03-27.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Softwood Identification Criteria" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-12-16. Presentation by Dr. George I. Mantanis (Univ. of Thessaly, 2024)
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ryan, V. (2012). "REVISION CARDS - SOFTWOODS". technologystudent.com. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beigzadeh, A.M. (2019). "Design, modelling and construction of a continuous nuclear gauge for measuring the fluid levels". Measurement. 138: 157–161. doi:10.1016/j.measurement.2019.02.017. S2CID 115945689.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Things we make from softwood trees". forestry.gov.uk. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harding, T. (1988). "British Softwoods:Properties and Uses" (PDF). forestry.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Proceedings - 72nd Softwood Conference" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-10-29.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."United States Forest Products Annual Market Review and Prospects: Country Market Report, 2021-2025" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-10-29.
External links
- Page Template:Sister-inline/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "Sister project logo". Media related to Script error: No such module "Commons link". at Wikimedia Commons
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