1) There are many factors that determine how much paper can be made from a single tree, including the type and size of the tree, how it is processed, and the type of paper being made. 2) As an estimate, a cord of air-dried hardwood weighing 2 tons can yield 454-908 kg of paper depending on the processing method. This would equal around 90,000 sheets of letterhead paper. 3) The number of paper products varies greatly depending on thickness and size, from magazines to newspapers to envelopes.

1. How Much
Paper Can Be
MadE froma Tree?

2. Although it seems simple,the answer to this ques­
tion is really quite complicated.
Manufactured paper is most likely made of wood
fiber. But where did the fiber come from? A whole
tree? Wood chips from a saw mill? Old copy paper?
Maybe a combination of all three? If the paper was
made from a whole tree, how old and how big was
the tree? What kind of tree was it? Finally, a lot de­
pends on the type of paper.What is its end use? And
how was it manufactured?
So as you can see, there are so many influencing fac­
tors involved, it is impossible to arrive at any one fi­
gure.
From fiber to pulp to paper
Unit measurements of pulpwood for paper and pack­
aging are in“cords”.A pulpwood cord is a stack of logs
1.2 meter high, 1.2 meter deep and 2.4 meter wide
(approximately 3.5 cubic meters). All measurements
of how much wood fiber is used to produce paper
products are in cords or tons.
The amount of fiber in a cubic meter of wood varies
greatly from species to species. Hardwoods (broad-
leafed species) tend to have greater wood densities

3. than softwoods (conifers), meaning they have more
fiber per cubic meter of wood.
When trees are harvested for papermaking,the limbs
are removed and the trunk is transported to a pulp
mill. At the mill, the bark is removed and burned for
fuel or processed to use as garden mulch.The wood
is often chipped into small pieces about the size of a
coin,and then broken down further into individual fi­
bers in a process called pulping.The pulping method
influences the amount of fiber the wood yields.
Mechanical pulping (pressing and grinding the
wood to separate the fibers) is very efficient,convert­
ing 95 percent of the dry weight of the wood into
pulp. Chemical pulping is another method in which
a chemical solution dissolves the lignin (lignin is a
natural wood chemical that holds fibers together) to
help separate the fibers. Paper made from chemical
pulp is stronger and less prone to discoloration. But
the pulp yield from chemical pulping is much lower,
though, since the lignin has been removed. Most
papermakers combine mechanical, chemical and re­
cycled pulp in varying amounts to produce the high­
est quality paper required from the least possible
amount of fiber.
But in general…
Now you know how difficult it is to find out exactly
how much paper can be made from one tree.But let’s
assume that most paper products have been pro­
duced using 100 percent hardwood. We know that
a cord of wood is approximately 1.2 meter high, 1.2
meter deep and 2.4 meter wide. A cord of air-dried,
dense hardwood weighs roughly 2 tons (2,000 kg),
about 15 – 20 percent of which is water.
So, it has been estimated that one cord of this wood
will yield approximately 454 kg – 908 kg of paper
(depending on the process),or nearly 90,000 sheets
(180 rims) of bond-quality paper (letterhead paper).

4. Interesting Facts
Here is a list of yields from a“generic”cord of wood:
• 454 kg – 908 kg of paper (depending on the process /
the grade)
• 90,000 sheets or 180 rims of letterhead bond-quality
paper
• 1,200 copies of magazine (the size of U.S. edition
National Geographic magazine)
• 2,700 copies of an average (36 page) daily newspaper
• 61,370 standard (#10) envelopes
• 4,384,000 postage stamps
• 12 dining room table sets (seating eight)
• 30 rocking chairs
• 7,500,000 toothpicks
One other interesting rule of thumb is that an acre of fo­
rested land may yield an average of 10 – 15 cords of wood
when harvested at maturity — depending not only on the
size of the trees, but also on how productively the land has
been managed.
Sources
1. American Forest & Paper Association
2. http://www.wipapercouncil.org/fun3.htm
For more information,please contact:
Jatna Supriatna,PhD
Regional Vice President
Conservation International Indonesia
Jl.Pejaten Barat No.16 A
Jakarta 12550
Indonesia
T 62 21 7883 8626
E jsupriatna@conservation.org
Chris Margules
Leader,Indonesia-Pacific
Field Division
Conservation International
PO Box 1023
Atherton Q 4883 Australia
T 61 7 4091 8800
E cmargules@conservation.org
www.conservation.org | www.conservation.or.id