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Spatial variation of wood density, stiffness and microfibril angle along Eucalyptus trunks grown under contrasting growth conditions

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Sloped terrains tend to produce trees with higher radial variation in wood density while at high wind speeds, the wood tends to present higher stiffness and lower MFA in Eucalyptus.

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the influence of environmental conditions on the within-tree variation in Eucalyptus wood traits. The genotype and environment effects and their interactions influence the wood properties. Their evaluations are crucial to estimate the genotype values and to select with efficiency. Thus, the aim of this study was to better understand the effect of ground slope and wind speed on the spatial variation of basic density (ρ), stiffness (MOE) and microfibril angle (MFA) of Eucalyptus wood. Wood discs cut along the trunk were sampled from one-hundred fifty 6-year-old Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla hybrids growing in three contrasting growing conditions influenced by ground slope and wind regime. Near infrared (NIR) calibrations previously developed for ρ, MOE and MFA were used to predict in our discs. 2-D plots presenting the spatial variation of predicted wood traits were compared. The higher the ground slope, the greater the magnitude of radial variation in ρ, principally in the medium zone of the trunk. The spatial variation of wood stiffness seems to be sensitive to two environmental conditions. The MFA radial decreases were more pronounced where the wind speed was higher. At the base and top of the trees, however, there was no significant effect of growing conditions on the radial variation of the wood properties considered here.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their special thanks to the CENIBRA NIPO-BRASILEIRA for providing trees; to the Department of Wood Science and Technology of the Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA, Brazil) for supporting the experimental work and to the Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Development (UMR AGAP and UR BIOWOOEB of CIRAD, Montpellier, France) for laboratory facilities. The authors would like to thank Arie van der Lee from Institut Européen des Membranes, CNRS and University of Montpellier for assistance with X-ray diffraction measurements. This study was funded by CENIBRA (Celulose Nipo-Brasileira), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil) and CIRAD (UR BIOWOOEB). P.R.G. Hein was supported by CNPq grants (process no. 200970/2008-9).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciências Florestais, DCF, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, CEP: 37200-000, Brazil

    Paulo Ricardo Gherardi Hein

  2. CIRAD UMR AGAP, ESALQ-USP, Piracicaba, Brazil

    Gilles Chaix

  3. Laboratoire “Sciences des Bois de Guyane”, UMR “Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane” (EcoFoG), Campus Agronomique, BP 701, 97387, Kourou, French Guiana, France

    Bruno Clair

  4. CIRAD-PERSYST Department, Performances des systèmes de production et de transformation tropicaux, UPR 114 “Biomasse, bois, énergie, bio-produits”, 73 Rue Jean François Breton TA B114/16, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Loïc Brancheriau

  5. Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil, CNRS, Universite Montpellier 2 Place E. Bataillon, cc 048, 34095, Montpellier, Cedex 5, France

    Joseph Gril

Authors
  1. Paulo Ricardo Gherardi Hein
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  2. Gilles Chaix
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  4. Loïc Brancheriau
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Correspondence to Paulo Ricardo Gherardi Hein.

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Communicated by Y. Sano.

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Hein, P.R.G., Chaix, G., Clair, B. et al. Spatial variation of wood density, stiffness and microfibril angle along Eucalyptus trunks grown under contrasting growth conditions. Trees 30, 871–882 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1327-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1327-8

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