Laboratory of Wood Technology (UGent-Woodlab)
UGent-Woodlab is part of the Department of Environment, situated at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University, Belgium. Our research group is headed by Prof. Joris Van Acker, Prof. Jan Van den Bulcke, and Prof. Wannes Hubau, and consists of more than 25 PhD students, postdocs, and support technical staff. UGent-Woodlab acquired over 50 years of experience in scientific and technological research on wood and maintains close contacts with all segments of the wood-processing industry and research groups involved in the forestry-wood chain.
We are a member of the Core Facility UGCT (UGent Centre for X-ray Tomography) of the UGent. We are also part of the research platforms Natural Capital and Green Chemistry, and the UGent IOF consortia HyCT, Composites, DuraBUILDmaterials and End-Of-Waste.
Mission statement
We focus on the sustainability of the forest-wood chain (see figure below) with emphasis on methodology development, to improve the management of our natural capital, and to to raise awareness in society about the importance of forests and wood.
The laboratory has elaborated its research activities in different research domains under 3 major headings:
(1) Forest growth and wood structure
Wood biology, wood quality, wood and tree properties, carbon sequestration, forest ecology, wood formation and tree ring analysis both for temperate and tropical regions.
(2) Bio-based building materials and service life
Biological durability, wood modification, wood preservation, coatings and service life prediction.
(3) Forest products innovation
Linking to processing and industrial products both as materials (sawn timber, wood-based panels, etc) and as a source of energy.
Fig.1 Research fields along the forest-wood chain and at UGent-Woodlab
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Forest Science at UGent
The research endeavors of UGent-Woodlab are part of the broader expertise in forest science within the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, which is organized into three large, complementary research groups. The Forest & Nature Lab has extensive experience in forest ecology, biodiversity, and ecosystem management. Q-ForestLab specializes in remote sensing, modeling, biogeochemistry, and tropical forests. Enhancing this synergy, UGent-Woodlab specializes in forest growth, wood structure, the development of bio-based building materials, and innovation in forest products. This trio of research groups encompasses ecological, technological, and management perspectives of forest sciences, facilitating a deeper understanding of the complex nature of global forests. This integrated interdisciplinary approach positions the faculty of Bioscience Engineering as a leader in forest science, sustainable forest management, and forestry wood chain topics, serving as a catalyst for pioneering scientific advancements.