Wood density is controlled to a large extent by the relative widths of earlywood and latewood in the stem, but the mechanisms controlling these amounts are poorly understood in coastal Douglas-fir. To understand the role of climatic factors, one hundred and thirty-six increment cores were collected and measured from the...
ASTM standard sizes for bending tests (either 50 × 50 mm or 25 × 25 mm in cross-section) are not always suitable for research purposes that characterize smaller sections of wood. Moreover, the ASTM standards specify loading the sample on the longitudinal-tangential surface. If specimens are small enough, then the...
When grown together in plantations, fast-growing southern and coastal sources of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.)often have lower wood specific gravity than northern and inland sources. This study investigated whether this phenomenon could be explained by a later transition to latewood, associated with a longer period of height growth, of...
The air‐seeding hypothesis predicts that xylem embolism resistance is linked directly to bordered pit functioning. We tested this prediction in trunks, roots, and branches at different vertical and radial locations in young and old trees of Pseudotsuga menziesii. Dimensions of bordered pits were measured from light and scanning electron micrographs,...
Wood density, moisture content, tracheid width and cell wall size were examined in trees from plots that were sprayed for 5 years with chlorothalonil (Bravo®) fungicide to reduce the impact of Swiss needle cast (SNC) and from trees in adjacent unsprayed plots. The unsprayed (more heavily diseased) trees had significantly...
There is a lack of fundamental knowledge about the role which adhesive flow and infiltration plays in the micro-mechanical performance of wood adhesive bonds. This data set, for the first time, provides a way to study directly the relationship between adhesive flow and the micro-mechanics of wood adhesive bonds.
Specimens...
The purpose of this study was to determine if thinning, fertilization or a combination of thinning and fertilization had an effect on overall average specific gravity, modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, fiber length and intra-ring characteristics. Material for this experiment consisted of 7 trees randomly selected from each of...
In plantation forests, competition from unwanted vegetation may reduce survival and negatively impact tree growth. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of vegetation management treatments on plant water relations and wood properties. Control trees (no treatment) were compared to trees subjected to post-planting competing vegetation control...
Intensive management of young-growth Douglas-fir plantations has emphasized volume growth over wood quality. A better understanding of the variables that affect wood quality is needed so that wood quality and stand yield can be systematically combined into a silviculture program. This experiment utilized two separate experiments to establish the relationship...
The width of earlywood and latewood in conifer xylem may have a profound effect on water transport and storage, vulnerability to embolism, and wood strength, yet the controls over the timing of latewood formation are unclear. Tracheids differentiating in the cambial zone are influenced by IAA indole-3 acetic acid, the...