About wood

Wood is an extremely important, versatile and beautiful raw material.

In Australia, about one cubic metre (m3) or one tonne of wood is used for every man, woman and child each year.

Sustainable management of our forests, the primary source of the wood we use, ensures a continual supply of wood to meet our present and future needs.

There are many different kinds of wood, produced by different tree species, yet all wood shares common features.

This Primefact covers the following topics:

• What is wood?
• Different kinds of wood in a tree
• Annual rings
• Softwoods and hardwoods
• Other wood cells
• Properties of wood
• Uses of wood
• Major timber species