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Research Support for Tree and Wood Properties

Adam’s primary experience is the preparation and testing of trees and wood samples to measure their mechanical properties. As part of this work Adam operates and maintains a mobile sawmill, wood working machinery, a suite of testing equipment, and a small kiln located at the Northern Research Station, as well as providing field support for tree sampling operations.

Alongside this work Adam collaborates on the development of techniques for tree and wood assessments. Recently this has included CT scanning logs of Sitka spruce to measure and model the shape of knots, and improving methods of assessing the radial variation of wood stiffness across tree-discs.

Field technician for Climate Change research

Adam is part of the team responsible for measurements of greenhouse gas exchange across mature and clear-felled Sitka spruce stands at Harwood forest. Adam’s primary role is the ongoing collection of data, maintenance and repairs of precision sensors and instruments, manual measurements of gas exchange and soil components, and the day-to-day operation of the site which is also studied by a number of collaborating institutes.

Adam joined Forest Research in 2015 as a project support officer for the Timber Improvement programme. In 2012 he graduated from the University of Edinburgh as a MEng in Structural and Fire Safety engineering and subsequently worked in research and development for fire resistant products followed by brief experiences in agriculture and carpentry. He now supports research projects for both the Tree and Wood Properties and the Climate Change group.

Research Support Scientist
Silviculture and wood properties

NRS

Northern Research Station

Bush Estate

Roslin

Scotland

Related Publications

Publication

Comparison of the carbon, water, and energy balances of mature stand and clear-fell stages in a British Sitka spruce forest and the impact of the 2018 drought

Sitka spruce is the major conifer species in British upland forests and is predominantly managed as even-aged, single-species plantations with rotation lengths of less than 50 years using a “patch clear-felling” system. Evidence on the impact of clear-felling on the carbon, water and energy balances of plantation forestry is sparse and extreme weather events, such […]

Published

Other Research

Tree and wood properties of conifers and broadleaves for future forests
Research support officer

Knot Measurement & Modelling Using CT Scanning
Research support officer

Rapid cross-sectional measurements of wood stiffness
Research support officer

Effects of Forest Management on Greenhouse Gases at Harwood Forest
Field technician