Kiln drying behavior of lumber from ten fast-growth plantation species in Costa Rica

Effects of thinning on diameter, heartwood, density and drying defects of Gmelina arborea

“…Contrary to results reported by Moya and Muñoz (2008), Moya et al (2013) and Salas and Moya (2014) for G. melina lumber. This condition could be associated to the drying method (Klaiber and Seeling 2004), schedules (Salas and Moya, 2014), presence of juvenile wood (Zobel and Sprague 1998), growth stresses in the tree (Archer 1986) and anatomical variation (Moya and Muñoz 2008).…”

Kiln drying behavior utilizing drying rate of lumber from six fast-growth plantation species in Costa Rica

“…The MC i obtained in this study varied from 53.1 to 183.5%, similar to values obtained for other species from forest plantations in Costa Rica. [14,17,26,27] However, in those specific studies, the studied plants showed coefficients of variation lower than 18%, in contrast to the coefficients of variation obtained in this study, most of which were greater than 20% ( Table 3). The high value found for the coefficient of variation of the studied species can be explained by the fact that the lumber samples were extracted from different parts of the tree.…”

“…The average drying rate variation found (from 3.84 to 21.6%/day, Table 3) for the six species had lower values than those obtained for the 10 forest plantation species in Costa Rica. [14] The variation obtained in this parameter for the studied species as well as other species is attributed to the characteristics inherent to the wood, [6,7] the characteristics of the drying chamber, [8] and the conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed) used during drying. [6] It is important to clarify that although the drying rates were compared between species, this situation could vary because the drying rates are obviously different for each drying schedule used.…”

“…The studies on the drying of lumber that comes from fast-growth forest plantations of native tropical-climate species are even more limited. [14] For example, Moya et al [14] evaluated, among other parameters, the average drying rate of 10 species from fast-growth plantations in Costa Rica, including native and exotic species. This study found that the drying rate varied from 4.8 to 30.5%/day.…”

“…On the other hand, species from fast-growth forest plantations in Costa Rica have been studied extensively. [15,16] At present, it is possible to find information regarding the physical, chemical, mechanical, and fuel wood properties [17,18] ; about the behavior during drying [14,19] ; as well as preservation and durability and workability of some of the native and exotic species. [20] However, no information regarding the drying processes of native species like C. alliodora, D. panamensis, E. cyclocarpum, H. alchorneoides, S. saman, and V. ferruginea-which have been used in Costa Rica in various reforestation projects [15,[20][21][22] -is available, which causes a serious restriction to their use and exploitation.…”