Effect of site conditions on the properties of hawthorn (Crataegus azarolus L.) wood

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of site conditions on the physical and morphological properties of hawthorn (Crataegus azarolus L.) wood grown in Zagros forests of Iran. Hawthorn is a valuable woody species in Iran’s Zagros forests with data deficiency in its wood properties. To our best knowledge, there is no study on the properties of hawthorn wood. Twenty-seven mature trees were randomly chosen and sampled at three altitude levels (1 800–2 000, 2 000–2 200, and 2 200–2 400 m) in the Bazoft region of Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari, Iran. Dry wood density, volumetric shrinkage, fibre length, fibre diameter, cell wall thickness were then determined. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to evaluate significant differences between the mean values of studied wood properties at different altitude levels and slope classes. Moreover, the relationships between the above-mentioned properties and some site conditions (temperature, precipitation, altitude, and slope) as well as growth parameters of trees (tree height, DBH, age, crown dimensions, volume, etc.) were studied by principal component analysis (PCA). The results indicated that trees growing at the second altitude level had the highest oven-dry density values, and those at the third altitude level had the lowest ones. Results also indicated a significant effect of altitude levels on fibre length, fibre diameter, and cell wall thickness. In contrast, a significant difference was found between the mean values of fibre diameter at different slope classes. PCA indicated that altitude, precipitation, and temperature are the most important environmental site variables affecting the wood characteristics.

Physical and chemical properties of three wild almond wood species grown in Zagros forests

“…The values of oven-dry density and basic density obtained in this study for the three species of almond were lower than those of other hardwoods, such as Persian oak and hawthorn growing in the Zagros forests, as reported by Bahmani et al (2018) and Nazari et al (2021). From the ANOVA test, there is a significant difference between wood species and volumetric shrinkage and volumetric swelling.…”

“…Nazari et al (2020) studied the geographic variations of wood density and fibre dimensions of Persian oak wood, and reported a significant statistical effect of altitude and slope on the volumetric swelling of this material. In another study by Nazari et al (2021), the influence of site conditions on the physical and morphological properties of hawthorn (Crataegus azarolus) wood grown in the Zagros forests of Iran was investigated. They reported that there were statistically significant differences in the oven-dry density of hawthorn wood at various altitudes, while no significant differences were found between the values of volumetric shrinkage.…”

Dendrochronological Analysis of One-Seeded and Intermediate Hawthorn Response to Climate in Poland

“…Finally, 2-4 rows of cells, immediately adjacent to the tree ring boundary and often pinching out, were commonly observed. Unfortunately, there is a lack of dendrochronological studies (this applies to all hawthorn species), although a few studies include comments on the age of trees, rings and growth rate [27,[42][43][44][45][46]. Of the approximately 50…”

Influence of soil physicochemical properties on biometrical and physical features of persian oak wood

“…Zagros forest in western Iran covers more than five million ha (Nazari et al 2021). This forests consists sub-Mediterranean, semiarid temperate climate, mainly consisting of deciduous, broad-leaved trees (Olfat and Pourtahmasi 2010).…”

“…It has been reported that climate and environmental factors affect the quality of wood (Zobel andvan Buijtenen 1989, Nazari et al 2020). Climatic factors (temperature and rainfall), geographic features (latitude, elevation, and slope), biotic factors (animals, plants, humans, fungi, bacteria), and physical and chemical properties of soil can impact wood properties (Topaloglu et al 2016, Nazari et al 2021. Although numerous studies investigated the relationships between ecological indexes and wood properties (Rossi 2015, Topaloglu et al 2016, Sousa et al 2018, our knowledge is still limited regarding the relation between soil properties and variations in wood quality.…”