Forests, Wood and Carbon

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 carbon handprint in the case of wood
•     know the basic macro-level structure of wood and are able to describe the basics of wood grain orientation
•     are able to describe how moisture influences wood dimensional changes and strength and are able to 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

Content

Students on this course will learn about global carbon sources and sinks and the role of forests in the carbon cycle. 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 handprint 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. Students will learn about the mechanical properties of wood as well its dimensional stability and moisture interaction at the cell-level. Students will become familiar with the most common long-lived wood products that are used in various applications in the built environment.

Teacher

Kristiina Lillqvist

Study material

Learning material is provided and presented in the online platform.

Online learning environment for the course & Activating Aalto ID

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching. You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course. 

Instructions for activating your Aalto User IDDigital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Workload

The course is mainly based on independent study in the online platform.

Prerequisites

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Evaluation

Evaluation criteria is based on examination.

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system:

1.     The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page  
2.     From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2024-2025 is selected  
3.     From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.

Exam details

Online exam

Exam instructions at the Open University

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done in Sisu-service. 

Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 5.8.2024 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 9.9.2024 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 100.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering. 

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Further information

The course is available for all students. A course implementation may be cancelled if the number of students enrolled to the course implementation does not meet the required minimum of five students. 

Individual study arrangements

If you need individual study arrangements in order to attend a course, contact the Open University in good time, at least 14 days before the start date of the course or the examination date. Further information and instructions for applying individual study arrangements can be found here:
Individual study arrangements at Open University