Forests, Wood and Carbon

This course introduces students to the different uses of forests and the raw material flows in the bioeconomy, as well as the potential of wood products in carbon storage. The general rules of life-cycle analysis are introduced, including selected work phases, such as calculating carbon storage potential in the case of wood. Students are introduced to the basic principles of sustainable forestry and circular bioeconomy, with wood as an example. The basic structure of wood is presented with links to its properties such as appearance, dimensional stability, and strength.

Designed by the School of Chemical Engineering, this course is of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about global carbon sources and sinks and the role of forests in the carbon cycle. Course modules include: introduction to the Finnish and global forests, basics of wood structure, anatomy, wood properties, wood products and applications, as well as carbon cycles and definition of carbon in wood.

Course learning outcomes:

After this course, students:
- are able to describe the role of forests in the carbon cycle and the potential of wood products as carbon storage.
- are able to differentiate the main forest operation methods and material flows in the forest bioeconomy.
- are able to list the common work phases of life-cycle analysis.
- know how to calculate the carbon storage potential of wood.
- know the basic macro-level structure of wood and can describe the basics of wood grain orientation.
- are able to describe how moisture influences wood dimensional changes and strength and can explain these phenomena based on cell-level interaction.
- know the influence of grain angle, knots and other natural features of wood on its movement, appearance, and mechanical properties.
- are able to describe the most common wood products and their typical applications.

Teaching methods:
A fully online course that consists of many short videos, educational texts, assignments, multiple choice quizzes and exams. You will study independently, with a few deadlines you will need to meet to successfully complete the course. We organise two online contact sessions to introduce and conclude the course and provide support via email during the course.

The final deadline for completing the course is 3.6.26