Underutilised hardwoods from European forests: potential for wider building applications
Across Europe, forest management strategies increasingly promote mixed species stands to improve resilience to climate change and forest disturbances. As a result, hardwood volumes are rising in many regions. However, harvesting and market uptake have not kept pace with this growth. The report Characteristics of underutilised wood stocks identified which hardwood species are genuinely underutilised from a forestry perspective, by comparing growing stock, net annual increment, and actual harvesting levels across selected European countries.
Analysis of National Forest Inventory and FAO data from Finland, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovenia show that only a limited number of hardwood species combine high availability with utilisation below or near increment. Across countries, Fagus sylvatica (beech), Betula pubescens (down birch), Betula pendula (silver birch), Quercus robur (English oak), Quercus petraea (sessile oak), and Alnus glutinosa (alder) consistently exhibit stable or increasing stock volumes while remaining partially underharvested. The findings demonstrate that underutilisation is a species-specific rather than a general hardwood condition. Several of these species have already been used in long-lived construction products (e.g. structural timber and engineered wood applications), indicating that underutilisation often reflects market and processing constraints, as well as the loss of knowledge that surrounds historically established uses, rather than inherent unsuitability for durable building use.
Prioritising harvesting strategies for underutilised species can help rebalance forest composition, reduce pressure on heavily demanded species, and create opportunities for diversified timber supply for construction application.
Additional information
The underutilisation of hardwood species does not in itself indicate valorisation potential. Harvesting decisions should remain aligned with biodiversity goals and ecosystem services. However, where hardwood utilisation remains consistently below increment, its mobilisation, if coordinated with processing and market capabilities, can contribute to both forest resilience and material substitution objectives.
WoodStock - Empowering climate-smart, circular, and zero-waste use of underutilised wood in the European construction sector to support the New European Bauhaus
Ongoing | 2024-2028
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Belgium, Slovenia, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Finland
Project Keywords
- Circular economy, incl. waste, by-products and residues
- Climate change (incl. GHG reduction, adaptation and mitigation, and other air related issues)
- Competitiveness/new business models
- Digitalisation, incl. data and data technologies
- Forestry
- Social innovation
- Supply chain, marketing and consumption
- Biodiversity and nature
- Landscape/land management