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Throughout history wood has been burnt as a fuel. Nowadays there are concerns that excessive wood burning has a negative effect on the environment – both because it depletes rainforests and because it contributes to global levels of carbon dioxide.

However, wood is one of the Earth’s resources that can still be used responsibly. By sustaining forests that are used for harvesting wood for fuel, we can help to maintain habitats and reduce soil erosion and nutritional depletion.

Sustainable plantations also maintain the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a tree that is planted will absorb as much carbon dioxide as will be released when another is burnt as fuel.

Wood may be used primarily for practical uses – fuel, construction and paper being among the more obvious practical uses – but it is also widely recognised as an excellent medium for art.

Art using wood is generally restricted to sculpture and marquetry, but it is a wonderful material for such techniques. Its grain and finish often gives it an incomparable visual appeal. Wood is also widely available for artists to use and although it takes time to learn how to sculpt using it, it is more workable that stone or bronze.

Of course, wooden artworks are often considered very precious because they must be treated very carefully. Wood is vulnerable to damage from water, excessive dryness, fire and insect attacks.

Oak has a very rich history in terms of the things it is used for. Throughout antiquity oak wood, has been used for shipbuilding because of its properties of hardness and strength. It is also resistant to fungal and insect attacks. The same qualities make oak a very popular wood in house building.

Oak barrels have also long been used by makers of wine and whisky because of the flavour that they add to the drinks. Some whiskies are aged for decades in oak barrels to achieve the right taste. Flavour plays a huge part in the use of oak wood. Chips of oak are even used to smoke cheese, meet and fish.

Not a lot of things built out of wood are visible from space, but new satellite pictures have shown that beavers have managed to piece together a dam that is.

The beaver dam in question is in Wood Buffalo National Park in the United States and is visible on Google Earth. It is thought to have been constructed by a number of different beaver clans and is almost 3,000 feet in length.

Beavers build dams to protect themselves and this is a fort of unprecedented size. Biologists have attempted to get a closer look at the gigantic dam, but that area of the park appears to be too inaccessible. At the moment, they are having to make do with the footage from space.

Mahogany is a really popular choice of wood for items of furniture. This particular variety of wood is renowned for its workability and durability so it is no surprise that it is such a good wood for furniture.

Mahogany is also very attractive thanks to its deep, reddish tone. This makes it even more popular with furniture designers. The wood is also commonly used to make musical instruments, with numerous guitar manufacturers preferring it for the depth of tone it yields. Drum manufacturers also commonly use mahogany.

Traditionally, mahogany was also used to make boats because of its natural resistance to wood rot.