Page 30 - Kutnar, Andreja, et al., eds., 2015. Proceedings of the 1st COST Action FP1307 International Conference - Life Cycle Assessment, EPDs, and modified wood. University of Primorska Press, Koper.

ceability
within
the
wood
supply
chain:
an
opportunity
defining

system
boundaries

Johann
Charwat-­‐Pessler1,
Rudolf
Schraml2,
Karl
Entacher1,
Andreas
Uhl²,
Alexander

Petutschnigg1

1
University
of
Applied
Sciences
Salzburg,
Markt
136a,
5431
Kuchl,
Austria.

johann.charwat-­‐pessler@fh-­‐salzburg.ac.at

2
University
of
Salzburg,
Department
of
Computer
Sciences,
Jakob-­‐Haringer-­‐Str.
2,
5020

Salzburg,
Austria

Keywords:
Traceability,
wood
supply
chain,
log
end
faces,
RGB,
European
timber
regulation

Progressing
deforestation
noticeable
worldwide
calls
for
more
efficient
monitoring
within
the

wood
supply
chain
from
felling
to
delivery
at
a
sawmill.
In
some
cases
illegally
harvested
wood

becomes
legalized
due
to
failure
in
controlling
and
monitoring
systems.
An
example
of
this
is

shown
by
Lins
da
Silva
et
al.
(2008)
in
the
Amazon
forest.
Lins
da
Silva
et
al.
(2008)
suggest
a

management
system
that
can
provide
information
on
wood
products
throughout
the
product

lifecycle
for
companies
and
final
consumers.
This
ensures
that
these
products
of
interest
originate

from
a
legal
and
sustainably
managed
forest.
Transparency
within
the
forestry
wood
supply
chain

also
benefits
life
cycle
assessment
(LCA)
since
product
system
boundaries
may
be
more
easily

defined.

The
European
timber
regulation
No
995/2010
(EUTR)
stipulates
duties
and
diligence
for
timber

and
timber
products
on
the
European
market
with
the
aim
to
hinder
global
deforestation
and

impede
imports
of
timber
and
timber
products
from
illegally
harvested
forests.
Since
March
2013

the
regulation
claims
disclosure
of
provenance
of
timber
and
timber
products
placed
on
the

European
market,
therefore
corresponding
technical
solutions
need
to
be
offered
and
researched.

In
the
past
decades
many
attempts
were
made
to
track
round
wood
from
the
forest
to
the

sawmill,
however,
all
technical
solutions
were
limited
in
their
application
due
to
harsh
weather

conditions,
costs,
or
other
inhibiting
factors.
Trials
conducted
ranged
from
marking
logs
with
paint

or
barcodes
to
RFID
transponders
and
DNA
fingerprinting
(Tzoulis
and
Andreopoulou
2013).

In
recent
studies,
traceability
of
logs
by
means
of
RGB
images
of
log
end
faces
was
investigated

within
the
scope
of
a
publicly
funded
research
project
whose
findings
are
promising.
The

investigations
follow
the
idea
to
make
a
picture
of
the
log
end
face
immediately
after
felling
and
a

second
image
at
the
sawmill
after
delivery.
The
scientific
question,
whether
it
is
possible
to

18