Forests, wood and carbon

Max amount of FITech students: 200

Persons without a valid study right at a Finnish university or university of applied sciences have preference to this course.

The course presents the role of wood and forests in the carbon cycle. Basic properties of wood material are covered, as well as processing from forest to different applications.

Course contents

• Students on this course will learn about global carbon sources and sinks and the role of forests in the carbon cycle.
• Students are introduced to the different uses of forests and the raw material flows in the bioeconomy, as well as the potential of wood products in carbon storage. The general rules of life-cycle analysis are introduced, including selected work phases, such as calculating carbon storage potential in the case of wood.
• Students are introduced to the basic principles of sustainable forestry and circular bioeconomy, with wood as an example. The basic structure of wood is presented with links to its properties such as appearance, dimensional stability, and strength.
• Students will learn about the mechanical properties of wood as well its dimensional stability and moisture interaction at the cell-level.
• Students will become familiar with the most common long-lived wood products that are used in various applications in the built environment.

Learning outcomes

After the course, students

• are able to describe the role of forests in the carbon cycle and the potential of wood products as carbon storage
• are able to differentiate the main forest operation methods and material flows in the forest bioeconomy
• are able to list the common work phases of life-cycle analysis
• know how to calculate carbon storage potential of wood
• know the basic macro-level structure of wood and are able to describe the basics of wood grain orientation
• are able to describe how moisture influences wood dimensional changes and strength and are able to explain these phenomena based on cell-level interaction
• know the influence of grain angle, knots and other natural features of wood on its movement, appearance, and mechanical properties
• are able to describe the most common wood products and their typical applications.

Course materials

All materials are available on course online platform. The course is performed online with a common web browser.

Teaching schedule

Online lectures (recordings available):

• Introduction lecture Thu 24.4.2025 9:15–10
• Closing lecture Fri 6.6.2025 10:15–11.

Completion methods

The course is completed independently online according to your own schedule before the course deadline given in the course platform (MyCourses).

The course includes:

• Reading materials
• Short videos
• Exercises
• Online exams

Please check the schedule from the Aalto University study guide.

You can get a digital badge after completing this course.

puu, puumateriaali, puutuotteet, metsä, metsäteollisuus, hiilijalanjälki, ympäristövaikutukset, hiilidioksidi, wood, material science, wood products, forest, forest industry, life cycle analysis, LCA, carbon, carbon dioxide