Elspeth Macdonald BSc, MSc, MICFor

Research Scientist, Centre for Forest Resources and Management

Elspeth Macdonald studied forestry at the University of Aberdeen, obtaining a BSc in 1989 and an MSc by research in 1991. The subject of her MSc thesis was “Effects of Fertiliser Application on the Wood Quality of Sitka Spruce”. She joined the Forestry Commission in 1990 and worked initially in forest districts in North Scotland, mainly on the management of harvesting and marketing operations. In 1997 she joined Forest Research to establish a new programme of research in the area of silviculture and timber quality. Since this time she has worked on projects relating to the assessment and prediction of wood and timber properties in the main commercial conifer species grown in Britain. During 2000 and 2001 she spent 18 months seconded to the Forestry Contracting Association to work on a number of timber transport projects.

Current role

Research Scientist, Centre for Forest Resources and Management

Current programmes

Improving the mechanical properties of Sitka spruce through selection and breeding
This project is being conducted in collaboration with Forest Research’s Conifer Breeding team. The aim is to contribute to improvements in the mechanical properties and in-service performance of Sitka spruce timber grown in the UK, by assessing opportunities for screening and selection on the basis of wood properties.

Timber quality from complex stand structures
Assessing the wood properties of Sitka spruce timber from Glentress forest, a long-running trial of the transformation of even-aged plantations to an irregular forest structure.

Recent projects

Scots pine timber quality and utilisation
This project, which ran from 2005 to 2010, was set up in conjunction with Forestry Commission Scotland to investigate the timber quality and utilisation potential of Scots pine in north Scotland, with a view to maximising the value of this resource to the local economy. Work included an analysis of current and future markets for Scots pine timber, testing methods for the assessment of Scots pine timber quality and applying these in a survey timber quality in 87 Scots pine stands across north Scotland.

Northern Periphery Programme Project – “Developing the Pinus sylvestris resource”
This was a collaborative project which ran from 2008-2011 with project partners in Scotland, Finland, Norway and Sweden.  The overall aim of the project was to stimulate the development and utilisation of Scots pine timber as a basis for supporting sustainable rural enterprises. Forest Research’s work was focused on developing guidance for the management of Scots pine forests for the production of high quality timber.

Compression wood in conifers
Project leader for this EU 5th framework project that ran from 2001 – 2004

Affiliations and achievements

• Member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters

Research areas

• Stem straightness in Sitka spruce
• Compression wood in conifers
• Timber quality from complex stand structures
• The use of timber in sustainable construction
• Scots pine timber quality and utilisation
• Improving the mechanical properties of Sitka spruce through selection and breeding.

---

Main recent publications

Refereed articles

Fonweban, J., Gardiner, B., Macdonald, E. and Auty, D. (2011). Taper functions for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris, L.) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) in Northern Britain. Forestry, 84 (1), 49-60. doi:10.1093/forestry/cpq043.

Macdonald, E., Moore, J., Connolly, T. and Gardiner, B. (2010). Assessing timber quality of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) ^(PDF-92K). In "The future of quality control for wood & wood products", Proceedings of the final conference of COST Action E53, Editors D.J. Ridley-Ellis & J.R. Moore, Edinburgh (UK). ISBN 978-09566187-0-2.

Macdonald, E., Davies, B. and Gjerdrum, P. (2010). Developing the Scots Pine resource: study tour to Norway. Scottish Forestry 64(2). Pp. 16-25.

Macdonald, E., Gardiner, B.A. and Mason, W.L. (2010). The Effects of Transformation of Even-Aged Stands to Continuous Cover Silviculture on Conifer Log Quality and Wood Properties in the UK. Forestry, 83 (1) 1-16. doi: 10.1093/forestry/cpp023.

Moore, J., Gardiner, B., Ridley-Ellis, D., Jarvis, M., Mochan, S. and Macdonald, E. (2009). Getting the most out of the United Kingdom’s timber resource. Scottish Forestry 63 (3) pp. 3-8.

Macdonald, E., Mochan, S. and Connolly, T. (2009). Validation of a stem straightness scoring system for Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.). Forestry, 82 (4) 419-429. doi:10.1093/forestry/cpp011.

Macdonald, E., Cooper, G., Davies, I. and Freke, B. (2008). Scots pine timber: current utilisation and future market prospects in Scotland. Scottish Forestry, 62 (4).

Macdonald, E. and Hubert, J. (2002). A Review of the Effects of Silviculture on the Timber Quality of Sitka  Spruce. Forestry, 75 (2), 107-138.

Macdonald, E. and Barrette, J. (2001). A Preliminary Study of Changes in Stem Straightness  with Age in Sitka Spruce. Scottish Forestry 55 (3), 135-140.

Non-refereed publications

Macdonald, E., Connolly, T. and Gardiner, B. (2010). A Survey of Scots pine timber quality in the Northern Periphery Programme area of Scotland. In Wood Structure & Properties '10. J. Kúdela & R. Lagaňa (eds). Arbora Publishers, Zvolen, Slovakia. ISBN 978-80-968868-5-2.

Macdonald, E., Moore, J., Connolly, T. and Gardiner, B. (2009). Developing methods for assessing Scots pine timber quality ^(PDF-330K). Forestry Commission Research Note (FCRN005). Forestry Commission, Edinburgh.

Macdonald, E., Cooper, G., Davies, I. and Freke, B. (2008). Scots pine timber: current utilisation and future market prospects. Forestry and Timber News, October 2008.

Gardiner, B., Macdonald. E., Hubert, J. and Forbes. J. (2002). Towards a timber quality model for British grown Sitka spruce. Proceedings of 4th IUFRO Workshop on Connection between Forest Resources and Wood Quality, British Columbia, Canada

Macdonald, E., Mochan, S. and Connolly, T. (2001). Protocol for Stem Straightness Assessment in Sitka Spruce ^(PDF-135K). Forestry Commission Information Note 39, Forestry Commission, Edinburgh.

Macdonald, E. (2000). Timber Quality in Great Britain - Key Issues and Implications for Forest Engineering. Landwards, Spring 2000.

Conference posters

Macdonald, E., Gardiner, B., Brüchert, F., Crossley, A., Daquitaine, R., Duncker, P., Fioravanti, M., Johansson, M., Kellomäki, S., Kliger, R., Leban, J-M., Maun, K., Peltola, H., Reynolds, T., Spiecker, H., Stewart, D. and Warensjoe M. (2004). Compression Wood in Conifers. Poster at conference “The Forestry Woodchain – Quantifying and Forecasting Quality from Forest to End-Product”, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, September 2004.

Macdonald, E., Gardiner, B., Payne, E., Warensjoe, M. and Crossley, A. (2004). Identification of compression wood in Sitka spruce and Scots pine. Poster at conference “The Forestry Woodchain – Quantifying and Forecasting Quality from Forest to End-Product”, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, September 2004.

Macdonald, E. and Gardiner, B. (2004). The distribution of compression wood in Sitka spruce and Scots pine. Poster at the IAWA-IAWS conference “International Symposium on Wood Sciences”, held in October 2004, Montpellier, France

Contract, advisory and other unpublished reports

Macdonald, E. and Gardiner, B. (2007). Scots pine timber quality in North Scotland: Market requirements and resource availability – Report of Task 1: Survey of Current Utilisation of Scots pine. Report to Forestry Commission and project steering group.

Final Report of EC Compression Wood Project (Draft) - Report to European Commission, July 2004.

Stirling, G., Gardiner, B., Connolly, T., Mochan, S. and Macdonald, E. (2000). A Survey Of Sitka Spruce Stem Straightness in South Scotland. Forest Research Final Report.

Macdonald, E. (1999). Log Quality Assessment in Sitka spruce - Report to Forestry Commission.

Macdonald, E. and Gardiner, B.A. (1999). Report on Proposed Development of a Timber Quality Model for Sitka Spruce – Report to Forestry Commission.

Macdonald, E. (1998). The Effects of Spacing and Pruning on the Timber Quality of Corsican Pine (Pinus nigra var maritima (Ait.) Melville). Report to Forest Enterprise.