Softwood

{{Short description|Wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers}} {{for|the plant propagation technique known as softwood cutting|Cutting (plant)}} [[file:Pinus sylvestris wood ray section 1 beentree.jpg|thumb|Scots pine, a typical and well-known softwood]] '''Softwood''' is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the softwoods completely lack vessels (pores).<ref>{{cite web | title=Softwood Anatomy | website=The Wood Database | date=2012-11-15 | url=https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/softwood-anatomy/ | access-date=2024-09-11}}</ref> The main softwood species (pines, spruces, larches, false tsugas) also have resin canals (or ducts) in their structure.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Bond|first1=Brian|title=Wood Identification for Hardwood and Softwood Species Native to Tennessee|last2=Hamner|first2=Peter}}</ref>

==Characteristics== [[Image:Hard Soft Wood.jpg|thumb|SEM images showing the presence of pores in hardwoods (oak, top) and absence in softwoods (pine, bottom)]] Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as pines and spruces. Softwoods are not necessarily softer than hardwoods.<ref name="Buckley">{{cite web|last1=Buckley|first1=Michael|title=A basic guide to softwoods and hardwoods|url=http://www.worldhardwoods.com/files/articles_basicguide.pdf|publisher=worldhardwoods.com|date=2005|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-date=19 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819093840/http://www.worldhardwoods.com/files/articles_basicguide.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The hardest hardwoods are much harder than any softwood,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Ten Hardest Woods {{!}} The Wood Database |url=https://www.wood-database.com/top-ten-hardest-woods/ |access-date=2024-03-27 |language=en-US}}</ref> but in both groups there is enormous variation with the range of wood hardness of the two groups overlapping. For example, balsa wood, which is a hardwood, is softer than most softwoods, whereas the longleaf pine, Douglas fir, and yew softwoods are much harder than several hardwoods.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Several specific natural, macroscopic and microscopic features of wood are used in the identification process of a softwood species.<ref>{{cite web | title= Softwood Identification Criteria| url=http://mantanis.users.uth.gr/Softwood-anatomy.pdf | access-date=2024-12-16}} Presentation by Dr. George I. Mantanis (Univ. of Thessaly, 2024)</ref>

Softwoods are generally most used by the construction industry and are also used to produce paper pulp, and card products.<ref name="Ryan">{{cite web|last1=Ryan|first1=V.|title=REVISION CARDS - SOFTWOODS |url=http://www.technologystudent.com/joints/softwoods1.html |date=2012|publisher=technologystudent.com|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref> In many of these applications, there is a constant need for density and thickness monitoring and gamma-ray sensors have shown good performance in this case.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beigzadeh |first1=A.M. |title=Design, modelling and construction of a continuous nuclear gauge for measuring the fluid levels |journal=Measurement |date=2019 |volume=138 |pages=157–161 |doi=10.1016/j.measurement.2019.02.017 |s2cid=115945689 }}</ref>

Certain species of softwood are more resistant to insect attack from woodworm, as certain insects prefer damp hardwood.

==Examples of softwood trees and uses== * Douglas fir - joinery, doors and heavy construction * Eastern white pine - furniture * European spruce - used throughout construction, panelling and cladding * Larch - cladding and boats * Lodgepole pine - roofing, flooring and in making chipboard and particle board<ref>{{cite web|title=Things we make from softwood trees|url=https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-52jc96|date=11 July 2017|publisher=forestry.gov.uk|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-date=2 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002022028/https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-52jc96|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Monterey pine * Parana pine - stair treads and joinery (critically endangered) * Scots pine - construction industry, mostly for interior work * Sitka spruce<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harding|first1=T.|title=British Softwoods:Properties and Uses|date=1988|url=https://www.forestry.gov.uk/PDF/FCBU077.pdf/$FILE/FCBU077.pdf|publisher=forestry.gov.uk|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-date=2 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002022010/https://www.forestry.gov.uk/PDF/FCBU077.pdf/$FILE/FCBU077.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Southern yellow pine - joinery, flooring and decking * Western hemlock - doors, joinery and furniture * Western red cedar (or red cedar) - furniture, decking, cladding, and roof shingles * Yew - interior and exterior furniture (e.g., chairs, gate posts and wood turning)

==Applications== Softwood is the source of about 70% of the world's annual production of lumber,<ref>{{cite web | title= Proceedings - 72nd Softwood Conference| url=https://www.lecommercedubois.org/files/upload/actualites/ISC_2024/MS_SC_Taormina.pdf | access-date=2025-10-29}}</ref> with traditional centers of production being mainly the US and Canada, Russia, China, Germany, and Scandinavia.<ref>{{cite web | title= United States Forest Products Annual Market Review and Prospects: Country Market Report, 2021-2025| url=https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/US_FPMAR_2023-2024_Nov3.pdf | access-date=2025-10-29}}</ref> Softwood is typically used in construction as structural carcassing timber, as well as finishing timber.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{commonscat-inline}}

Category:Forestry Category:Timber industry Category:Wood products Category:Woodworking softwood Category:Wood-related terminology