Soft maple, growing naturally in the hardwood forests of North America, is one of the most prolific and sustainable species, similar to hard maple but slightly softer in impact hardness.
Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum
red maple, silver maple
American soft maples grow widely across the eastern USA in mixed hardwood forests with more red maple in the northeast and silver maple concentrated in the mid and southern states. The name can be misleading as soft maple is not technically very soft. There are a significant number of sub-species – all sold as soft maple. Several, including Pacific coast/big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), grow in the northwest USA, for which there are specific grading rules that apply.
FIA data shows U.S. soft maple growing stock is 1.62 billion m3, 11.1% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American soft maple is growing 36.4 million m3 per year while the harvest is 16.0 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 20.4 million m3 each year. U.S. soft maple growth exceeds harvest in all the main producing states.
Global Warming Potential | Primary Energy Demand from Resources | Primary Energy Demand from Renewables | Acidification Potential | Freshwater Eutrophication Potential | Marine Eutrophication Potential | Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential | Resource Depletion | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unit | Kg CO2 -eq | MJ | MJ | Moles of H+ eq. | Kg P -eq | Kg N -eq | Kg NMVOC | Kg Sb -eq. |
Forestry | / | 322 | 11500 | 0.348 | / | 0.000415 | 0.438 | 0.00000251 |
Drying | 29.9 | 451 | 471 | 0.167 | 0.000247 | 0.00797 | 1.33 | 0.0000192 |
Sawmill | -146 | 836 | 2320 | 0.266 | 0.000165 | 0.00542 | 0.19 | 0.000227 |
Transport Forest-Kiln | 54.3 | 751 | 12.1 | 0.25 | 0.000382 | 0.00637 | 0.313 | 0.0000328 |
Transport Kiln-Customer | 141 | 1850 | 27.7 | 2.62 | 0.000552 | 0.0491 | 1.93 | 0.0000765 |
Carbon uptake | -3190 | / | / | / | / | / | / | / |
Total | -3110 | 4210 | 14400 | 3.66 | 0.00135 | 0.0692 | 4.2 | 0.000358 |
Soft maple from the USA is widely available as sawn lumber in a range of sizes and grades, but rarely as veneer. The lumber is normally sold unselected for colour. West coast production is usually sold surfaced and graded from the better side, in a departure from standard NHLA Grading Rules.
Soft maple has good bending and crushing strength, but is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It is about 25% less hard than hard maple. Accordingly it is not recommended for flooring or work tops.
This highly sustainable, managed hardwood from natural forests of North America, with excellent environmental credentials, is considered where hardness and hardwearing properties may not be essential. It is used in furniture, cabinet making and joinery as well as doors, kitchen cabinets and for turning and mouldings.