The project looked into the matter of changes in wood properties, which take place in pulpwood felled and prepared in different seasons of the year, and the effects of these changes on the manufacturing of chemical pulp and the usage value of the wood. This project is continuation to the 1999 study entitled ”Varastolaho, esiintyminen ja vaikutukset” (Storage rot: occurrence and its effects).
Storage piles of pulpwood were set up in Finland, Estonia and Latvia for the purposes of the study. The pulpwood was harvested from final felling operations carried out in different seasons of the year, mainly using mechanised systems. The target size of the storage piles of timber in Finland was 50 – 60 m3 and in Estonia and Latvia 25 – 30 m3.