Quantifying Trade-offs and Synergies between Ecosystem Services; Lead PI - Matt Betts

Using a long-term, large-scale manipulative experiment, the research aims to: quantify the effect of intensive forest management on biodiversity, determine how intensive forest management and biodiversity interact to affect ecosystem services (i.e., timber production, carbon sequestration, pollination), model stand and landscape-scale relationships between intensive forest management and multiple biodiversity components and ecosystem services, and examine public opinions and tradeoffs.

Opportunities for Biochar Production to Reduce Forest Wildfire Hazard, Sequester Carbon, and Increase Agricultural Productivity of Dryland Soils; Lead PI - John Sessions

The study aims to inform policy for Oregon and stakeholders by evaluating whether large-scale biochar production is technically feasible, logistically scalable, economically competitive, and environmentally beneficial at the landscape scale. If the outcome suggests biochar production meets these minimum criteria, the study could potentially trigger industrial interest in supporting the development of forest-to-farm biochar markets, benefiting rural economies that are typically based on forest and agricultural commodities. More Info

Go Big or Go Home? Tools and Processes for Scaling Up Collaborative Forest Restoration; Lead PI - Emily Jane Davis

The project analyzes how forest collaboratives and Forest Service managers can successfully plan and manage at landscape scales, and determine how scientific research, participatory simulation modeling and innovations in collaborative participation can contribute to the processes. Visit the project website.

Cross-Laminated Timber Fasteners Solutions for Tall Wood Buildings; Lead PI - Arijit Sinha

Constructing buildings with CLT requires development of novel panel attachment methods and mechanisms. Architects and engineers need to know the engineering strength properties of connected panels, especially in an earthquake prone area. This project will improve knowledge of three types of wall panel connections: wall-to-floor, wall-to-wall, and wall-to-foundation. Testing will determine the strength properties of metal connectors applied with different types and sizes of screw fasteners. The data will be used to develop a modeling tool that engineers can use when designing multi-story buildings to be constructed with CLT panels.

Behavior of CLT Diaphragm Panel-to-Panel Connections with Self-tapping Screws; Lead PI - Thomas Miller

Understanding how roof and floor systems (commonly called diaphragms by engineers) that are built from Pacific Northwest-sourced cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels perform in earthquake prone areas is a critical area of research. These building components are key to transferring normal and extreme event forces into walls and down to the foundation. The tests performed in this project will provide data on commonly used approaches to connecting CLT panels within a floor or roof space and the performance of associated screw fasteners. Structural engineers will directly benefit through improved modeling tools. A broader benefit may be increased confidence in the construction of taller wood buildings in communities at greater risk for earthquakes.

Structural Health Monitoring and Post-Occupancy Performance of Mass Timber Buildings; Lead PI - Mariapaola Riggio

A key question about new generation taller wood buildings is how they will perform over time in terms of durability and livability. This project will determine how best to measure these qualities by selecting sensors, determining testing and measurement protocols, and implementing testing assemblies in selected CLT buildings in Oregon. This project will make use of the new Peavy Hall under construction for the College of Forestry at Oregon State University as a “living” laboratory, educating future generations of students.

Fire performance of Douglas-fir CLT wall and floor assemblies made in Oregon; Lead PI - Lech Muszynski

An important area of concern for building code officials is fire safety, and there is very little data in the United States that documents the performance of CLT panels exposed to fire. This project documented the flammability of Douglas-fir and Spruce-pine-fir CLT panel assemblies produced in the U.S. tests were conducted on wall and floor panel assemblies with standard overlapping connections and produced with two different types of commonly-used adhesives. Sensors placed throughout the panels provided data about how fire affects the interior and exterior of a panel. A thermal imaging camera provided information on how the structural integrity of panels was affected by fire and fire suppression activities.