Physical properties of wood in thinned Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) from plantations in northern Spain

Abstract

-• The physical properties of wood and the associated variations within and between trees were evaluated by analysing 770 small specimens of clear wood from 11 Pinus sylvestris L. trees thinned from 3 plantations.• Within-tree variations in basic density or volumetric shrinkage increased with cambial age and decreased with increasing ring width. The effect of the height in the stem on wood properties was considered indirect and height was not included as an explanatory variable in the mixed models proposed to estimate basic density and volumetric shrinkage.• The models had random components for the intercept parameter and explained 52.5% of the total variance in basic density and 56% of the total variance in volumetric shrinkage. Linear shrinkage in the direction of the grain was extremely variable.• Between-tree variation and between-plot variation in the physical properties of wood were high, considering that all trees sampled were growing in similar sites and stands. It would then be desirable to predict physical properties of wood on living trees in order to use the quality of wood as a criterion for timber tree selection in thinnings. Scots pine / Pinus sylvestris / wood properties / thinning Résumé -Propriétés physiques du bois de pin sylvestre (Pinus sylvestris L.) issu d'éclaircie dans des plantations du nord de l'Espagne.• Les propriétés physiques du bois et leurs variations intra et inter arbres ont été évaluées à partir de l'analyse de 770 éprouvettes de bois sans noeuds de 11 arbres d'éclaircie répartis sur 3 sites.• La densité et le retrait volumétrique augmentaient dans chaque arbre avec l'âge du cambium et diminuaient avec la largeur de cerne. On a considéré que la hauteur dans la tige n'avait qu'un effet indirect sur les propriétés du bois, aussi la hauteur a-t-elle été exclue des variables explicatives dans les modèles mixtes proposés pour estimer la densité et le retrait volumétrique.• Ces modèles présentent une composante aléatoire pour le terme constant et peuvent expliquer 52,5 % de la variabilité totale de la densité basique et 56 % de la variabilité totale du retrait volumétrique.• Le retrait longitudinal est extrêmement variable. La variation entre arbres et entre sites est très importante, compte tenu de la similarité des peuplements et sites étudiés.pin sylvestre / Pinus sylvestris / propriétés du bois / éclaircie

Effect of Seed Source on Physical Properties of Scots Pine (a Case Study in Neka, Iran)

“…The basic density of Scots pine grown from the Spanish seed source is about 433 kg/m3, which is almost similar to the basic density of the wood grown in Spain (430 kg/m3, Munoz et al, 2008) and in southern Finland (435 kg/m3, Repola, 2006). Wood with the basic density of 400-600 kg/m3 is suitable for pulp production (Downes et al, 1997), which is the case of Scots pine grown from the Armenian, Serbian and Spanish seed sources.…”

“…In softwoods, the growth rate increase with changes in the early wood causes a reduction in density and mechanical properties of the wood (Panshin and de Zeeuw, 1980). In softwoods (Bouffier et al, 2003;Hashemi and Kord, 2011;Kiaei, 2011;Kiaei et al, 2012), particularly Scots pine (Mutz et al, 2004;Repola, 2006;Munoz et al;2008), wood density along radial direction increases from the pith to the bark and decreases in the longitudinal axis of the tree from the bottom to the top. Pinus sylvestris grown in the central part of Lithuania has lower density, more lignin and extractives, and equal amounts of cellulose and ash in comparison to Pinus contorta (Sable et al, 2012).…”

“…This species has spread in a wide area of Europe from western Scotland to eastern Siberia, and from Scandinavian countries to the south of Spain. In Scotland, these trees provide valuable and unique forests replacing other native coniferous species (Sindair, 1999), they cover an area of about 1.28 million hectares of forests in Scotland and 700,000 to 650,000 hectares of plantation forests in Spain (Alia et al, 2000;Montrero et al, 2001;Munoz et al, 2008). Nowadays, Scots pine has spread in the mountainous regions of North, Central and West Europe (at the altitude from 500 to 2400 meters), and in southern Europe and in Eurasia and other continents in the south-eastern and north-eastern Canada and the United States through planting and cultivating (Steven and Carlisle, 1959).…”

Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of Pinus sylvestris wood at five sites in Portugal

“…Regarding the data of the remaining studies, their comparison with our results cannot be accurate, as the measurement techniques were different, namely, the basic density (Wilhelmsson et al 2002, Riesco-Muñoz et al 2008, Auty et al 2014, Tomczak et al 2015 and green density (Verkasalo & Leban 2002).…”

“…Many wood properties such as stiffness and mechanical strength (Verkasalo & Leban 2002), retractility (Riesco-Muñoz et al 2008), resistance to biodegradation (ReyPrieto & Riesco-Muñoz 2012), and the derived paper quality (Sable et al 2012) are strongly affected by intrinsic wood properties such as density (mass of wood cell wall material per unit volume), which is considered one of the most important indicator of wood quality (Zobel & Van Buijtenen 1989), along with fibre and microfibril orientation. However, wood density can vary both within and among trees as a result of the combinations of various density components (Gaspar et al 2008a).…”