Acacia melanoxylon in Argentina: heartwood content and its relationship with site, growth and age of the trees

  • Dora-Virginia Igartúa Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Ruta 226 Km. 73,5; CC 276 (7620) Balcarce, Argentina
  • Karen Moreno Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Ruta 226 Km. 73,5; CC 276 (7620) Balcarce, Argentina
  • Silvia-Estela Monteoliva Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. INFIVE-CONICET. Av. 60 y 119; CC 31 (1900) La Plata, Argentina http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8679-7633
Keywords: axial variation, general linear models, heartwood, sapwood, wood quality

Abstract

Aims of study: To characterize the wood of Acacia melanoxylon in relation to its potential use in the construction and furniture industry, here we determined the heartwood and sapwood content and distribution within the stem and analyzed their relationship with the growing site, age and growth rate of the trees. Finally, we predicted heartwood content by two easy-to-measure variables.

Area of study: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Methods: 20 trees aged between 9 and 32 years were sampled in four sites. Axial sampling was carried out at four heights of the stem (base, breast height, and 30% and 50% of the total height), and the heartwood content (percentage and volume) and sapwood content (cm) determined.

Results: The trees analyzed presented conical-shaped heartwood following the outline of the stem along all its commercial height. Within the stem, the highest volume of heartwood was observed at the basal region (53%) and up to 30% of total height, a feature observed in all the sites studied. The sapwood content was constant along the entire stem (2.18 cm). The age of the trees did not influence the heartwood content, whereas the environmental conditions provided by each site (heartwood/volume and heartwood/diameter growth positive ratios) did affect this feature.

Research highlights: The absolute amount of heartwood was driven by growth rate, due to the forest structure of non-uniform age. The heartwood volume can be estimated through fitting linear equations (R2 0.78 - 0.89) with two easily measurable variables such as diameter at breast height and tree height.

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Author Biography

Silvia-Estela Monteoliva, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. INFIVE-CONICET. Av. 60 y 119; CC 31 (1900) La Plata, Argentina

Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales

Cátedra de Xilotecnología

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Published
2017-05-29
How to Cite
Igartúa, D.-V., Moreno, K., & Monteoliva, S.-E. (2017). Acacia melanoxylon in Argentina: heartwood content and its relationship with site, growth and age of the trees. Forest Systems, 26(1), e007. https://doi.org/10.5424/fs/2017261-10195
Section
Research Articles