Article
 

Effect of growth rate on the anatomy, specific gravity, and bending properties of wood from 7-year-old red alder (Alnus rubra)

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/bg257f55p

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Understanding the association between growth rate and wood properties is of practical importance to maximizing and sustaining wood and fiber production. Anatomical characteristics, specific gravity, and bending properties were determined at breast height for thirty 7-year-old trees with varying growth rates, from a red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) plantation. Wood was sampled from the growth ring with a cambial age of 5 years. Growth varied from 2.0 to 9.3 mm/year (ring width), or 264 to 3350 mm2/year (ring area). We analyzed the relationship between growth rate, in terms of both annual ring width and area, and each wood property. Because both measures of growth rate yielded the same qualitative results, we only used ring width in our analyses. Regression analysis showed that growth rate had no effect on specific gravity, the modulus of elasticity in bending, the modulus of rupture in bending, fiber diameter, or the proportion of growth ring that was fiber or vessel. Fiber length, vessel diameter, and ray proportion, however, were positively correlated with growth rate. Fiber-wall thickness and axial parenchyma proportion decreased slightly with growth rate. The results indicate that the growth rate of A. rubra trees can be increased through silvicultural practices with few negative effects on wood and fiber quality, at least in the juvenile wood zone of the stem.
  • Keywords: accelerated growth, ray, corewood, diffuse-porous, vessel diameter, juvenile wood, fiber length
Resource Type
DOI
Date Available
Date Issued
Citation
  • Hua Lei, Barbara L. Gartner, and Michael R. Milota. 1997. Effect of growth rate on the anatomy, specific gravity, and bending properties of wood from 7-year-old red alder (Alnus rubra)1. Can. J. For. Res. 27: 80 -85.
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 27
Journal Issue/Number
  • 1
Academic Affiliation
Rights Statement
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details 97-Lei-Young_alderCJFR.pdf 2017-07-07 Public Download