Examination of the potential to reduce water application rates in pine wet decks

Abstract

Wet storage of logs under sprinklers is a common method for maintaining log quality and consistent fiber supply to wood production facilities. Because of increased concerns regarding water use, mills in the southeastern United States are interested in refining water application strategies. To do so, we need to examine how log moisture varies with time and in response to differing water application rates. We used time domain reflectometry (TDR) to examine variation in log moisture of southern pine logs in response to nominal water application (100 mm/day) and a 30% reduction in water use at two woodyards (Santee in South Carolina and Dry Creek in Alabama) over a 15-month period. Initially significant differences between treatments were observed, but differences only existed for a short period, indicating that a 30% reduction in the amount of water applied results in little change in log moisture or quality.