Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Growth and basic wood properties of black spruce along an alti-latitudinal gradient in Quebec, Canada

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Annals of Forest Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

• Context

The Canadian forest industry is turning its attention towards the unmanaged areas at higher latitudes, where the forest resource is still poorly understood because of lack of accessibility. Despite a lower productivity in terms of volume, northern stands are expected to produce wood of higher quality, which may make these areas attractive for management and production.

• Aims

This study aims to test the hypothesis that trees at high latitudes produce wood with better basic properties than trees at lower latitudes.

• Methods

Growth and wood characteristics were assessed according to cambial age in 25 black spruce (Picea mariana) trees from five sites located along an alti-latitudinal gradient in Quebec.

• Results

Sites at higher latitudes and altitudes exhibited slower growth rates and lower stem volume. Wood density and mechanical properties were higher in the sites located at lower latitudes or altitudes. Fiber size had higher values in southern sites, but only at younger ages. Principal component analysis confirmed these results, with the northernmost site being the one where growth, density and mechanical properties were generally lowest.

• Conclusion

The reduction in growth was not compensated by increases in the basic properties of wood. More extensive samplings are needed to validate the results at larger scale.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alteyrac J, Cloutier A, Ung C-H, Zhang SY (2006) Mechanical properties in relation to selected wood characteristics of black spruce. Wood Sci Technol 38:229–237

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anfodillo T, Carraro V, Carrer M, Fior C, Rossi S (2006) Converging tapering of xylem conduits in different woody species. New Phytol 169:279–290

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowyer J, Shmulsky R, Haygreen JG (2003) Forest products and wood science: an introduction. Iowa State Press, Ames

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield BG (2003) Wood anatomy in relation to wood quality. In: Barnett JR, Jeronimidis G (eds) Wood quality and its biological basis. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 30–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmean WH (1972) Site index curves for upland oaks in the Central States. For Sci 18:109–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Cregg BM, Dougherty PM, Hennessey TC (1988) Growth and wood quality of young loblolly pine trees in relation to stand density and climatic factors. Can J For Res 18:851–858

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuny H (2013) Dynamique intra-annuelle de la formation du bois de trois espèce de conifères (sapin pectiné, épicéa commun, pin sylvestre) dans les Vosges. PhD thesis, Université de Lorraine, Nancy

  • Desch HE, Dinwoodie JM (1996) Timber: its structure, properties, conversion and use. Macmillan Press Ltd, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Golfin Seco JI, Diez Barra MR (1996) Growth rate as a predictor of density and mechanical quality of sawn timber from fast growing species. Holz Roh Werkst 54:171–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Golfin Seco JI, Diez Barra MR, Hermoso Prieto E, Conde Garcia M (2004) Mechanical characterization of timber from Spanish provenances of laricio pine according to European standards. Wood Sci Technol 38:25–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin GL (1945) Preparing thin section of synthetic resin and wood–resin composites, and a new maceration method for wood. Nature 155:51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fricker JM, Chen HYH, Wang JR (2006) Stand age structural dynamics of North American boreal forests and implications for forest management. Int For Rev 8:395–405

    Google Scholar 

  • Gindl W, Grabner M, Wimmer R (2000) The influence of temperature on latewood lignin content in treeline Norway spruce compared with maximum density and ring width. Trees 14:409–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gindl W, Grabner M, Wimmer R (2001) Effects of altitude on tracheid differentiation and lignification of Norway spruce. Can J Bot 79:815–821

    Google Scholar 

  • Høibø O, Vestøl GI (2010) Modelling the variation in modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture of Scots pine round timber. Can J For Res 40:668–678

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes RL (1983) Computer-assisted quality control in tree-ring dating measurement. Tree-Ring Bull 43:69–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Leban JM, Houllier F, Goy B, Colin F (1992) La qualité du bois d'épicéa commun en liaison avec les conditions de croissance. Forêt Entrep 80:11–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenz P, Bernier-Cardou M, MacKay J, Beaulieu J (2012) Can wood properties be predicted from the morphological traits of a tree? A canonical correlation study of plantation-grown white spruce. Can J For Res 42:1518–1529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom H (1997) Fiber length, tracheid diameter, and latewood percentage in Norway spruce: development from pith outwards. Wood Fiber Sci 29:21–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Lussier J-M, Morin H, Gagnon R (2002) Mortality in black spruce stands of fire or clear-cut origin. Can J For Res 32:539–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäkinen H, Saranpää P, Linder S (2002) Wood-density variation of Norway spruce in relation to nutrient optimisation and fibre dimensions. Can J For Res 32:185–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mencuccini M, Grace J, Fioravanti M (1997) Biomechanical and hydraulic determinants of the tree structure in Scots pine: anatomical characteristics. Tree Physiol 17:105–113

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moser L, Fonti P, Buentgen U, Franzen J, Esper J, Luterbacher J, Frank D (2010) Timing and duration of European larch growing season along altitudinal gradients in the Swiss Alps. Tree Physiol 30:225–233

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oliva AG, Merino VB, Seco JIF-G, García MC, Prieto EH (2006) Effect of growth conditions on wood density of Spanish Pinus nigra. Wood Sci Technol 40:190–204

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Panshin AJ, De Zeeuw C (1980) Textbook of wood technology. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministère des Ressources Naturelles (2000) La limite nordique des forêts attribuables. Rapport final du comité. Gouvernement du Québec,

  • Robitaille A, Saucier J-P (1998) Paysages régionaux du Québec méridional. Les Publications du Québec, Québec

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Anfodillo T, Menardi R (2006) Trephor: a new tool for sampling microcores from tree stems. IAWA J 27:89–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Tremblay M-J, Morin H, Savard G (2009) Growth and productivity of black spruce in even- and uneven-aged stands at the limit of the closed boreal forest. For Ecol Manag 258:2153–2161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Morin H, Tremblay M-J (2010) Growth and productivity of black spruce (Picea mariana) belonging to the first cohort in stands within and north of the commercial forest in Quebec, Canada. Ann For Sci 67:807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi D, Rossi S, Morin H, Bettero A (2012a) Within-tree variations in the surface free energy of wood assessed by contact angle analysis. Wood Sci Technol 46:287–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Morin H, Deslauriers A (2012b) Causes and correlations in cambium phenology: towards an integrated framework of xylogenesis. J Exp Bot 63:2117–2126

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Morin H, Gionest F, Laprise D (2013) Spatially explicit structure of natural stands dominated by black spruce. Silva Fenn 47:973

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi S, Girard M-J, Morin H (2014) Lengthening of the duration of xylogenesis engenders disproportionate increases in xylem production. Global Change Biol 20:2261–2271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saranpää P (2003) Wood density and growth. In: Barnett JR, Jeronimidis G (eds) Wood quality and its biological basis. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 30–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider R, Zhang SY, Swift DE, Bégin J, Lussier J-M (2008) Predicting selected wood properties of jack pine following commercial thinning. Can J For Res 38:2030–2043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry JS, Nichols KL, Sullivan JE, Eastlack M (1994) Xylem embolism in ring porous, diffuse porous and coniferous trees of northern Utah and interior Alaska. Ecology 75:1736–1752

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St-Germain J-L, Krause C (2008) Latitudinal variation in tree-ring and wood cell characteristics of Picea mariana across the continuous boreal forest in Quebec. Can J For Res 38:1397–1405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay M-J, Rossi S, Morin H (2011) Growth dynamics of black spruce in stands located between the 51st and 52nd parallels in the boreal forest of Quebec, Canada. Can J For Res 41:1769–1778

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viereck LA, Johnson WF (1990) Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., black spruce. In: Burns RM, Honkala BH (eds) Silvics of North America, vol 1: conifers. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, p 675

    Google Scholar 

  • Wangaard FF (1950) The mechanical properties of wood. John Wiley & Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiemann MC, Williamson GB (2002) Geographic variation in wood specific gravity: effects of latitude, temperature, and precipitation. Wood Fiber Sci 34:96–102

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang KC, Hazenberg G (1994) Impact of spacing on tracheid length, relative density, and growth rate of juvenile wood and mature wood in Picea mariana. Can J For Res 24:996–1007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang S-B, Slik JWF, Zhang J-L, Cao K-F (2011) Spatial patterns of wood traits in China are controlled by phylogeny and the environment. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 20:241–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zobel BJ, van Buijtenen JP (1989) Wood variation—its causes and control. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank J. Boulouf-Lugo, F. Espìn, J.-G. Girard and C. Soucy for technical support, and A. Garside for checking the English text.

Funding

This work was funded by Consortium de Recherche sur la Forêt Boréale Commerciale, Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec, and Fonds de Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies du Québec.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des Sciences Fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 Boulevard de l’Université, Chicoutimi, QC, G7H2B1, Canada

    Sergio Rossi, Ernesto Cairo, Cornelia Krause & Annie Deslauriers

Authors
  1. Sergio Rossi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ernesto Cairo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Cornelia Krause
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Annie Deslauriers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sergio Rossi.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Jean-Michel Leban

Contribution of the co-authors

SR: experimental design, data analysis and paper writing. EC: data collection, literature reviewing and paper writing. CK: experimental design and paper writing. AD: experimental design and project coordination

Executive summary

Northern stands are expected to produce wood of higher quality, making these areas attractive for the forest industry. This hypothesis was not accepted by the analysis. Thus, the reduction in growth would not be compensated by increases in basic properties of wood.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOCX 164 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rossi, S., Cairo, E., Krause, C. et al. Growth and basic wood properties of black spruce along an alti-latitudinal gradient in Quebec, Canada. Annals of Forest Science 72, 77–87 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-014-0399-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-014-0399-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation