22 August 2010
There is a great, sustainable wood option out there, that the trade refers to as Lyptus. It is a fast-growing, plantation-grown tree that is a hybrid of two species of Eucalyptus. It is successfully used in reforestation efforts in Brazil to convert grazing lands back to forest. Unlike other hardwoods, it reaches harvesting maturity in only 14-16 years (as opposed to 80-100 which is common for other hardwoods). In terms of strength and durability it compares well to oak and hard maple. It has straight, even, uniform grain, and the texture and color rivals that of mahogany and cherry. Its natural color ranges from red to light pink, and it stains beautifully, so the possibilities with this wood are endless. It compares favorably in price as well. So far so good – BUT! – nothing is ever as good as it sounds (sigh)… There is an on-going battle between the Lyptus producers Weyerhaeuser and the indigenous people in the area of the Aracruz Cellulose Mill. The quote below is from RANs blog, the Understory:
“Lyptus is produced by Weyerhaeuser through a joint venture with Aracruz Cellulose at a mill near Espirito Santo, Brazil. Aracruz plantations located in the same region as the Lyptus mill are the subject of a an extremely vigorous dispute with local indigenous communities, who say that Aracruz tree farms have devastated their homeland. Weyerhaeuser says that the Lyptus product doesnt come from the disputed area, but stops short of saying that they never get any of these trees. Locals on the ground concede that most of the trees go to feed a paper mill in the area, but say that some of the trees may be headed to the Lyptus mill on a spot-basis.”
In addition, I read on a garden forum somewhere, that growing only eucalyptus trees is extremely hard on the soil, and that the soil of the Lyptus fields are depleted of nutrients after only one harvest. I guess that makes sense – any monoculture will do that – especially a fast growing one. Go figure…
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