Mechanical properties of some Swedish hard wood species

A large part of Sweden is located within the Taiga Area and hence most of the wood species growing there are included in the division of Coniferales. This has also led to major research activities on the needle-leaved types in the Pinaceae family. There are, however, many broad-leaved trees, but because of their relatively low economic importance only a few researchers have had the opportunity to study such woods. For certain branches of the Swedish wood manufacturing industry the Angiosperms are of vital importance, e.g. the furniture factories. In this paper the mechanical properties of two Swedish hard wood genera, namely Betula and Alnus, are revealed. These findings are also compared with those found in the literature.