Lettre de Abbé Alexis Durocher à John Brown

2 page

American beech in value-added hardwood products: Assessing consumer preferences

The depleted state of the northern hardwood forests of Quebec, Canada has forced the hardwood flooring industry to adapt its production. American beech (Fagus grandifolia), a traditionally less desired species, is now increasingly being included in wood supplies to sawmills in western Quebec, where forest managers hope this resource can be valued before the onset of significant mortality and wood degradation from the beech bark disease. This study aimed: 1) to assess the preferences of consumers towards American beech flooring products compared to well known species traditionally used in this market; and 2) to compare results obtained in face-to-face surveys with web-based surveys of consumer preferences. Results from both survey types revealed that the finishing colour was the most important factor affecting the decision of respondents, followed by species and price. American beech ranked third in species preferences, just above birch. Divulgating species names only affected (positively) the perception of respondents towards oak. It was concluded that American beech could be included in the current wood flooring market, probably among cheaper options such as birch. The similarity of results from face-to-face and online surveys suggests that general trends in consumer preferences could be rapidly and cheaply assessed using the latter optio

Untapped volume of surplus forest growth as feedstock for bioenergy

In Canada, the annual allowable cut (AAC) sets the harvest limit of roundwood and aims to maintain the longterm productive capacity of the forest while taking into account other values such as biodiversity and needs of stakeholders. Current harvest levels in the province of Quebec, which feed an industrial network dominated by the production of lumber, panels and pulp, average only 55% of the AAC, which may cause a gradual depletion of the forest resource if stands that have the highest value are preferably selected. In this context, using surplus forest growth consisting of low quality trees and less desirable stands as bioenergy feedstock could help improve both silvicultural practices and wood value chain profitability. The aim of this study was to identify biophysical and socio-economic factors that affect the proportion of the AAC that is harvested in Quebec's 74 management units. Results from the analysis of AAC and harvesting data for the period 2008–2013 showed the harvested proportion of the AAC was particularly low for hardwood species, with the proportions for poplar, birch and maple ranging between 19 and 38%. The distance to the nearest pulp or particle board mill was confirmed as the prime factor determining the harvest/AAC ratio for deciduous species. For softwoods, the presence of deciduous stands in a given region affected the harvest/AAC ratio. Low quality hardwoods could be used as an important source of feedstock for the bioenergy sector. Developing a synergy between conventional and bioenergy products could facilitate the application of sound silvicultural practices and increase profitability along the entire wood value chain

KM3NeT front-end and readout electronics system : hardware, firmware, and software

The KM3NeT research infrastructure being built at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea will host water-Cherenkov telescopes for the detection of cosmic neutrinos. The neutrino telescopes will consist of large volume three-dimensional grids of optical modules to detect the Cherenkov light from charged particles produced by neutrino-induced interactions. Each optical module houses 31 3-in. photomultiplier tubes, instrumentation for calibration of the photomultiplier signal and positioning of the optical module, and all associated electronics boards. By design, the total electrical power consumption of an optical module has been capped at seven Watts. We present an overview of the front-end and readout electronics system inside the optical module, which has been designed for a 1-ns synchronization between the clocks of all optical modules in the grid during a life time of at least 20 years

KM3NeT front-end and readout electronics system: hardware, firmware, and software

he KM3NeT research infrastructure being built at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea will host water-Cherenkov telescopes for the detection of cosmic neutrinos. The neutrino telescopes will consist of large volume three-dimensional grids of optical modules to detect the Cherenkov light from charged particles produced by neutrino-induced interactions. Each optical module houses 31 3-in. photomultiplier tubes, instrumentation for calibration of the photomultiplier signal and positioning of the optical module, and all associated electronics boards. By design, the total electrical power consumption of an optical module has been capped at seven Watts. We present an overview of the front-end and readout electronics system inside the optical module, which has been designed for a 1-ns synchronization between the clocks of all optical modules in the grid during a life time of at least 20 years

KM3NeT front-end and readout electronics system: hardware, firmware, and software

The KM3NeT research infrastructure being built at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea will host water-Cherenkov telescopes for the detection of cosmic neutrinos. The neutrino telescopes will consist of large volume three-dimensional grids of optical modules to detect the Cherenkov light from charged particles produced by neutrino-induced interactions. Each optical module houses 31 3-in. photomultiplier tubes, instrumentation for calibration of the photomultiplier signal and positioning of the optical module, and all associated electronics boards. By design, the total electrical power consumption of an optical module has been capped at seven Watts. We present an overview of the front-end and readout electronics system inside the optical module, which has been designed for a 1-ns synchronization between the clocks of all optical modules in the grid during a life time of at least 20 year