American aspen

American aspen is a true poplar, growing widely in the USA, particularly in the Northeast, Lake States and across to the Rockies. The genus Populus is composed of many species, which all look alike microscopically. However, aspen is completely different to tulipwood, often referred to as yellow poplar in the USA despite not being a Populus.

Latin Name

Populus tremuloides

Other Common Names

white poplar, trembling aspen, popple

American_aspen_big
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American aspen trees grow in dense stands that are easily sustainable but are commercially less important than some other American hardwoods.Tress can grow up to 120ft (48m) and up to 4ft (1.2m) in diameter. Due to genetic variability trunks can either be quite cylindrical with little taper and few limbs, or crooked and contorted. Aspen is one of the species that benefits from clear-cutting to regenerate, being shade intolerant, and regrows both from seedlings and root suckers. It is a natural pioneer species after forest fires. The four main aspen producing states are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine and Michigan.

FOREST GROWTH

Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data shows U.S. aspen growing stock is 637 million m3, 4.3% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American aspen is growing 10.4 million mper year while the harvest is 8.9 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 1.5 million m3 each year. 

Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming Volume of live trees on forest land, 1000 m³ 0 3.5K All data derives from The Forest Inventory and Analysis Database developed in 2001, a component of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.Data was compiled by AHEC in May 2020 using the most recent state inventory available (2018 for most states).“Forest volume” refers to “Net volume of live trees on forest land" as defined by FIA (see glossary). FIA forest volume data is available for 49 U.S. states (Hawaii and Washington D.C. are omitted) with total commercially significant hardwood forest volume of 14.6 billionWith the 2008 Farm Bill, every US State was tasked to prepare a Forest Action Plan by 2010, reviewed in 2015, to include comprehensiveassessment of forest condition and a strategy for sustainable forestry. Further details are available from theNational Association of State Foresters
Back to whole mainland U.S. 0-20K 20K-40K 40K-60K 60K-80K 80K-100K 100K-120K > 120K Volume of live trees on forest land, 1000 m³ 0 200K
-15K -10K -5K 0 5K 10K 15K 20K 25K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -10K -9K -8K -7K -6K -5K -4K -3K -2K -1K 0 1K 2K 3K 4K 5K 6K 7K 8K 9K 10K GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -2000 -1750 -1500 -1250 -1000 -750 -500 -250 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 GROWTH AND REMOVALS, 1000 m³ Removals 0 Growth 0 Net growth 0
0 200K 400K 600K 800K 1M 1.2M FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 40K 80K 120K 160K 200K 240K 280K 320K 360K 400K 440K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K 80K 100K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ 0 4K 8K 12K 16K 20K FOREST VOLUME, 1000 m³ Forest volume 0

LCA Tool

2.06
seconds
it takes 6.05 seconds to grow 1m³ of American aspen
The replacement rate is calculated from total U.S. annual increment of the specified hardwood species derived from the U.S. Forest Service Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and assumes that 2 m³ of logs is harvested to produce 1 m³ of lumber (i.e. 50% conversion efficiency). The rapid rate of replacement is due to the very large volume of hardwood trees in U.S. forest.
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Aspen from the USA is available as sawn lumber and veneer. Lumber tends to be available mainly in thinner sizes, 4/4” (1’’ or 25.4mm) and 5/4” (1.25” or 32mm), although limited volumes of 6/4” (38mm) and 8/4” 52mm may be available from some suppliers. 

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The sap of aspen is white and the heartwood is light brown with only a small difference between the two. The wood of aspen has a fine uniform texture and straight grain.  

Mechanical Properties

Aspen has low density and the wood is light and soft. It has a very low bending classification with low strength and stiffness but has medium shock resistance.

  • 0.38

    Specific Gravity (12% M.C.)

    417 kg/m3

    Average Weight (12% M.C.)

    9.20%

    Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.)

    57.918 MPa

    Modulus of Rupture

    8,136 MPa

    Modulus of Elasticity

    29.304 MPa

    Compressive strength (parallel to grain)

    1,557 N

    Hardness
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Oiled
aspen_oiled
Un-oiled
aspen_unoiled
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  • Aspen machines easily but can produce a slightly fuzzy surface when cut. It does not split when nailed and it turns and sands fairly easily and holds paint and stain well to produce a good finish, but care is needed where the surface is fuzzy. Aspen has low to moderate shrinkage and good dimensional stability. It is similar in performance to other true poplars grown around the world.

     
  • The wood is non-resistant to heartwood decay and is resistant to preservative treatment.
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This fast growing hardwood, which is common across the USA, is used for furniture parts, particularly drawer sides. It is also used in a variety of applications including doors, interior joinery, mouldings and picture frames. Specialist uses include seating in saunas due to its low conductivity of heat and in food packaging and chopsticks due to lack of odour and taste. Aspen is also used for pulp for paper.

Mouldings
Doors
Cabinets