Material Flow Analysis of Wood Resources: A Review of Current Practices in EU and Switzerland

Hongjun Wang (), Atsushi Takano and Stefan Winter
Additional contact information
Hongjun Wang: Chair of Timber Structures and Building Construction, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
Atsushi Takano: Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-8580, Japan
Stefan Winter: Chair of Timber Structures and Building Construction, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstraße 21, 80333 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Wood and wood-based products are increasingly recognized for their renewability and carbon storage capacity, supporting sustainable development and circular economy goals in the EU. This paper provides a comprehensive review of 42 material flow analysis (MFA) studies on wood resources conducted in the European Union and Switzerland between 2000 and 2024, introducing a five-level data risk classification. It examines how MFA is applied, including system boundaries, data sources, unit consistency, flow representation, and uncertainty handling. Results show that while volume-based units and Sankey diagrams are widely used, there is substantial variation in terminology, data quality, and methodology. The building stage is frequently excluded, limiting the completeness of wood flow assessments. Key challenges include restricted data access, inconsistent spatial and temporal scales, and varying levels of data processing risk. The study recommends harmonized units and terminology, open-access databases, standardization in visualization practices, and ultimately a wood-specific MFA framework to improve data quality, comparability, and policy relevance.

Keywords: material flow analysis (MFA); wood resources; wood products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9808/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9808/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9808-:d:1786894

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().