A critical analysis of methods for rapid and nondestructive determination of wood density in standing trees

Abstract

& Key message Field methods for rapid determination of wood density in trees have evolved from increment borer, torsiometer, Pilodyn, and nail withdrawal into sophisticated electronic tools of resistance drilling measurement. A partial resistance drilling approach coupled with knowledge of internal tree density distribution may offer an alternative solution for wood density surveys in the future. & Context Finding ways to nondestructively assess wood density in trees has been a quest by foresters and wood scientists around the world. In the past several decades, traditional increment borer methods have gradually evolved into sophisticated electronic tools of resistance drilling measurements. & Aims We provide a comprehensive review of research development in the use of several field nondestructive methods for rapid determination of wood density in trees and discuss pros and cons of each method for field applications. & Results The use of the increment borer has been a standard method for assessing wood density in trees, and it has been further developed into a system approach allowing the use of outer wood cores and knowledge of internal density distribution for predicting wood density of major tree components. Studies on the use of torsiometer, Pilodyn, and nail withdrawal tools have had very limited success and do not warrant replacement of the increment borer. Resistance drilling, on the other hand, has emerged as a potential tool for more efficient and economical collection of wood density information in trees. & Conclusion The resistance drilling method has considerable advantages over other methods in terms of less damage to trees, faster operation, and higher measurement sensitivity. Internal friction is a key factor that currently hinders further application.

Growth parameters and resistance to Sphaerulina musiva-induced canker are more important than wood density for increasing genetic gain from selection of Populus spp. hybrids for northern climates

“…The borders of the profile, representing a small piece of the resistogram which marked the changing environment for the drilling tip, were removed prior to further assessment and the profiles were divided into two separate sections: (1) from bark to pith and (2) from pith to bark. Because we noticed a statistically significant increase in drilling resistance between the two sections (t = 14.05, p < 0.001), for further analysis, we only used data from the first half of the profile (from bark to pith) (Gao et al 2017).…”

Wood and Fiber Quality of Plantation-Grown Conifers: A Summary of Research with an Emphasis on Loblolly and Radiata Pine

“…• X-ray densitometry (density); • X-ray diffraction (MFA); • SilviScan (density, MFA, stiffness, tracheid properties) [23][24][25]; • Near-infrared spectroscopy (properties related to the chemistry of the wood, pulp yield, and a range of physical-mechanical properties) [26,27]; • Acoustics (stiffness) [28][29][30]; and • Resistance drilling, and pin penetration (density) [31][32][33][34].…”

Acoustic-Based Non-Destructive Estimation of Wood Quality Attributes within Standing Red Pine Trees

“…Wood product-based performance measures and their relationship with fibre attributes (sensu [6,7] Relatively recently, a suite of innovative non-destructive operational survey tools have been developed for estimating the end-product potential of standing trees. These tools include: (1) time-of-flight acoustic velocity instruments for indirectly providing an estimate of wood stiffness such as the Director ST300 developed by Fibre-gen Inc. of Christchurch, New Zealand (e.g., [8]) and the TreeSonic microsecond timer developed by Fakopp Enterprise, Ágfalva, Hungary (e.g., [9]); and (2) micro-drill resistance and impact tools for indirectly providing a non-destructive estimate of wood density such as the Resistograph developed by Instrumenta Mechanik Labor GmbH of Wiesloch, Germany, and the Pilodyn developed by PROCEQ of Zurich, Switzerland, respectively (see [10] for a comparative review).…”