Utilization potential of naturally regenerated Mongolian <i>Betula platyphylla</i> wood based on growth characteristics and wood properties

Abstract

To preliminary evaluate the potential wood utilization of Sukaczev trees naturally regenerated in Mongolia, growth characteristics (stem diameter and tree height), wood properties (annual ring width, basic density, and compressive strength parallel to grain at the green condition) of core samples, and stress-wave velocity in stems were investigated for trees grown naturally in three different sites in Selenge, Mongolia. trees, naturally grown in Nikko, Japan, were also examined to compare wood properties between the two regions. The mean values of stem diameter, tree height, stress-wave velocity of stems, annual ring width, basic density, and compressive strength parallel to grain at green condition in Mongolian were 17.6 cm, 14.1 m, 3.50 km s, 1.27 mm, 0.51 g cm, and 20.4 MPa, respectively. Basic density and compressive strength were decreased first from the pith, and then gradually increased toward the bark. The wood properties of trees grown naturally in Mongolia were similar to those in trees grown in Japan. Growth characteristics, especially stem diameter, were positively correlated with the stress-wave velocity of stems and basic density. Early evaluation of basic density in trees is possible by using wood located 2 cm from the pith. Basic density at the position from the 1st to the 15th annual ring from the pith showed significant between-site differences in Mongolian . Based on the results, it is concluded that the wood of trees grown in Mongolia may be used for industrial products as well as those from similar species in other countries.Betula platyphyllaBetula platyphyllaBetula platyphyllaB. platyphylla–1–3B. platyphyllaB. platyphyllaB. platyphyllaB. platyphyllaB. platyphylla

Modeling of radial variations of wood properties in naturally regenerated trees of Betula platyphylla grown in Selenge, Mongolia

“…The mean value of the annual ring width (1.37 mm; Table 1) was similar to those of Betula species grown in Mongolia, Japan [8,9], and Finland [27]. Figure 2 shows the distance from the pith in relation to the annual ring number from the pith.…”

“…The Betula species is distributed in the temperate to subarctic zones of northeast Asia, including western and northern China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The basic wood properties of the Betula species have been investigated by several researchers for efficient utilization of the wood from this species (e.g., [1,[7][8][9]).…”

“…The relationships between growth characteristics and wood properties have been investigated for both softwoods and hardwoods [10,11,19]. Several researchers have investigated these relationships in Betula species specifically (e.g., [2,3,8,9,20]). Heräjärvi [20] reported significant positive correlations between wood density and static bending properties, such as the modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR), in 60-90-year-old B. pendula and B. pubescens Ehrh.…”

Physical and mechanical properties of wood and their geographic variations in Larix sibirica trees naturally grown in Mongolia

“…Thus, MOE and MOR values for the 10th and 30th annual rings from the pith were estimated from the logarithmic formula fitted to the radial variation of MOE and MOR in each tree. The annual ring numbers of the specimens were estimated from the radial variations of annual ring width 33 according to the method described in our previous reports 39 – 41 .…”

Stem Biomass Equation of Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake

“…The tree stem should be cut into three parts (base, middle, top) logs to take account of wood density and moisture content variations in the part of stem. Wood density is also different at the top (Iida et al, 2012) and base (Greenwood et al, 2017) of the tree (young wood near the crown, high proportion of adult wood toward the base but it may also vary according to the condition of the tree's growth including changes in proportion between early and late wood, annual ring width, and changes in cell structure and properties (Genet et al, 2013;Pretzsch et al, 2018;Erdene-Ochir et al, 2020). Samples about 10 cm (disk) long should be taken of the each part of the stem (Picard et al 2012).…”