Within the scope of the SustForest Plus project, the Cesefor Foundation in collaboration with the Territorial Environmental Service of Soria of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, Maderas José Félix Sanz de Diego, S.L. and MASOVA, S.L. have started a study on the compatibility of the use of Pinus pinaster resin with the production of wood for structural use. Thanks to this study, the physical-mechanical properties of Pinus pinaster Ait. subsp. mesogeensis wood from resin-treated trees have been compared with wood from non-resin-treated trees.

Thanks to this study, Pinus pinaster wood from resinated pines is not excluded from the structural wood market, so that it can be included in the national standard UNE 56544 of wood for structural use. The UNE 56544, establishes the visual classification system applicable to structural sawn timber of rectangular section from the main Spanish conifers. In addition, the properties have been determined. The conclusions of this study are as follows:

• Resination in resinated trees does not produce losses in the structural properties of the wood (strength and stiffness).
• The density of the wood increases as a consequence of the resination process, which may have positive applications for some industrial uses that appreciate higher density, e.g. outdoor flooring.
• The sample gave 41.9% of pieces visually classified as ME1, 47.3% as ME2 and 9.6% as rejects, which are normal percentages for structural timbers.
• The characteristic values obtained for the sample are within the normal strength and stiffness values for Pinus pinaster wood in Spain.

In general, it can be concluded that both resin and wood are not only complementary, but that the resination process could produce an improvement in certain wood products, where density is a factor to be taken into account.

The full study can be found in the SustForest Plus project fact sheet "The production of resinated wood for structural use".

The SustForest Plus project SOE2/P5/E0598 "Strategy and collaborative networks for multifunctionality, conservation and employment in the territory of Southern Europe through resin extraction" runs from 2018 to 2021, is co-financed by the Interreg Sudoe Programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union and aims to improve joint management methods of natural resin sources in the Sudoe territory as a strategic and preferential resource for industry, job creation and rational use of natural resources.

The beneficiary partners of the project are the following entities: Fundación Centro de Servicios y Promoción Forestal y de su Industria de Castilla y León (Cesefor), Centre Nacional de la Propriété Forestière (CNPF), European Forest Institute (EFI), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), Municipality of Penela, Municipality of Proença-a-Nova, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Institut Européen de la Forêt Cultivée.