Cell Morphology and wood properties of Shorea Acuminatissima Planted in Indonesia

Abstract

In view of the importance of long-rotation plantation forestry in SE Asia to limit soil erosion, the cell morphology and wood properties of 35-yearold plantation trees of yellow meranti, Shorea acuminatissima Sym. were studied. To understand the effects of growth rate on cell morphology and wood properties, 131 trees in a stand were classified according to their stem diameter as fast-, medium-, and slow-growing. Five trees in each category were selected for determining the cell morphology and wood properties. There were significant differences in vessel diameter, vessel frequency, and cell wall thickness of wood fibers in the three categories. The fast-growing trees had a relatively low frequency of wide vessels and thick-walled wood fibers. However, no significant differences in basic density or compressive strength parallel to grain were identified in the three categories. The radial variation in the cell morphology and wood properties showed an almost identical pattern in the three categories, suggesting that xylem maturation depends on the cambial age rather than growth rate.

Effects of radial growth rate on anatomical characteristics and wood properties of 10-year-old <i>Dysoxylum mollissimum</i> trees planted in Bengkulu, Indonesia

“…To clarify the effects of radial growth rate on the anatomical characteristics and wood properties, 50 trees were measured and classified into three categories based on the mean values and standard deviations (SD) of stem diameter (d) according to the method of Ishiguri et al (2012b): fast-growing trees (d mean one SD), mediumgrowing trees (mean -one SD d mean one SD), and slow-growing trees (d mean -one SD).…”

“…Compressive strength parallel to the grain in green condition was measured by the method described in the previous paper (Ishiguri et al 2012b). The core sample was cut into 5 mm intervals from the pith.…”

“…In the case of softwood species grown in the temperate zone, tracheid length and microfibril angle which are closely related to the physical and mechanical properties of wood, become stable after the 15th to the 20th annual ring from the pith, suggesting that xylem maturation in temperate softwood species depends on cambial age (Watanabe et al 1963). Several researchers have investigated the xylem maturation process in tropical hardwood species (Honjo et al 2005, Kojima et al 2009a, Ishiguri et al 2012b, Nugroho et al 2012, Makino et al 2012). Researches have shown that the maturation process in some fast-growing species, such as Acacia mangium, A. auriculiformis, and Falcataria moluccana, depends on the diameter growth (Honjo et al 2005, Kojima et al 2009a, Makino et al 2012, Nugroho et al 2012.…”

“…25 (1) became stable after about 6 cm from the pith in A. mangium trees with different diameter sizes and ages (Makino et al 2012). However, xylem maturation of some tropical hardwood species, such as Shorea acuminatissima and Tectona grandis, depends on cambial age (Ishiguri et al 2012b. Therefore, xylem maturation might differ among tropical hardwood species.…”

“…Measurement of stress-wave velocity is one nondestructive method for evaluating the Young's modulus of wood (Nanami et al 1993, Ikeda and Arima 2000, Dickson et al 2003, Wang et al 2004). In addition, as a semidestructive method, some researchers have used core samples obtained with a core borer to investigate anatomical characteristics and wood properties, including wood strength (Lin et al 2007, Ishiguri et al 2012b, Makino et al 2012.…”