Diversity in specific gravity and water content of wood among Bornean tropical rainforest trees

Abstract

Wood properties were measured for trees in lowland dipterocarp forests in West Kalimantan. In 1993 and 1994, 353 samples of 286 species were collected from trunk base of trees of approximately 5 cm in diameter, and the specific gravities (SG: oven dry weight/fresh volume) and water contents of wood including bark were measured. The SG of each species ranged from 0.21 to 0.84, and the mean ± SD was 0.53 ± 0.13. The wide range of SG suggests that the forest had a high diversity in wood properties. The most dominant and diversified genus in this area was Shorea, and the SG of 15 species varied from 0.21 to 0.71. The range covered SG of pioneer (six Macaranga, 0.29–0.43) and small trees in primary forests (nine Eugenia and 10 Xanthophyllum, 0.55–0.77). The SG average for tree species of secondary forests of 2–6 years old was 0.31. It was significantly smaller than that of primary forests (0.58). In a primary dipterocarp forest plot, light‐wood species grew faster in diameter than heavy‐wood species. Water content ranged from 0.26 to 0.76. Heavy wood had low water content. Among light‐wood species, some (Shorea, Artocarpus) had low water contents and others (Ficus) had high water contents. Some riverine trees also had high water contents. These wood properties appear strongly related to the life history of trees and successional stage.

Comparison of Wood Density and Water Content Between Dry Evergreen and Dry Deciduous Forest Trees in Central Cambodia

“…In contrast, we found a significantly lower wood density of canopy gap species in DEF (Table 3). This lower wood density of canopy gap species is consistent with many previous studies that reported significantly lower wood density in canopy gap and secondary forest trees, due to their faster growth rate than late successional species in tropical forests in Southeast Asia (Kenzo et al 2009ab, Osunkoya et al 2007, Suzuki 1999. Conversely, the similarity of wood density between height-related life-forms in Cambodian dry forests (Table 3) may be related to severe drought stress during longer dry spells than in moist tropical rainforests.…”

“…A slower growth rate in drier forest trees than that of wetter forest trees may cause this difference (Barajas-Morales 1987). Several tree species with low growth rates such as understory trees also showed higher wood density than fast growing species such as pioneer species (MullerLandau 2004, Poorter 2008, Suzuki 1999. High wood density may be adaptive to a dry environment because those trees have high tolerance to drought stress with low stem water potential, by having high physical strength with thick cell walls (Holbrook et al 1995, Markesteijn et al 2011, Onoda et al 2010.…”

“…These cores were oven-dried at 100°C for >72 h until reaching a constant mass. Wood density was determined as wood dry mass per fresh volume and wood water content as wood water mass per fresh volume (Suzuki 1999).…”

Wood properties related to pulp and paper quality in two <i>Macaranga</i> species naturally regenerated in secondary forests, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

“…The previously reported range of basic densities of wood from Macaranga species was about 0.30 to 0.45 g cm -3 (Killmann 1990, Suzuki 1999a, Ogata et al 2008, Chin et al 2013. Killmann (1990) reported a basic density for M. hosei wood of 0.27 to 0.34 g cm -3…”

Aboveground Biomass and Carbon in a South African Mistbelt Forest and the Relationships with Tree Species Diversity and Forest Structures

“…Between-species variation would, however, strongly influence AGB because wood density affects tree specific growth and survival rate [57]. Accordingly, it has been documented that lower wood density allows for faster growth in size [46,58], probably because trees grow faster when the conductive tissue is less expensive (in terms of carbon) to construct [45,59]. The use of wood density is not common, although it is known to result in substantial improvement.…”