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Intra-specific competition and the radial development of wood density, microfibril angle and modulus of elasticity in plantation-grown Eucalyptus nitens

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Abstract

In eucalypt plantations managed for solid-wood products, radial trends in wood density, microfibril angle (MFA) and stiffness (modulus of elasticity, MoE) are properties of potential commercial importance that can be affected by competition from neighbouring trees. In this study, wood properties at breast height (1.3 m) were studied on radial strips prepared from 12-mm pith-to-bark wood cores taken from 20 trees in a 22-year-old Eucalyptus nitens (Deane and Maiden) Maiden thinning trial in north-eastern Tasmania, Australia. Thinning treatments were applied at age 6 years. Trees were sampled from each of the 200, 400 stems ha−1 and unthinned control treatments. Intra-specific competition for each sampled tree was estimated using the basal area growth of surrounding trees. SilviScan™ technology was used to produce radial profiles of wood density, MFA and MoE. Results indicate a reduction in intra-specific competition through thinning of E. nitens plantations at an early age leads to a transient increase in MFA but has no significant effect on wood density or the intra-annual cycle of wood density. The correlation between the level of intra-specific competition and initial change in MFA following thinning, and a significant relationship between tree shape and mean MFA at breast height suggests the change in MFA is a post-thinning response to increased exposure and wind sway.

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Acknowledgments

This study forms part of Program 2 (High Value Wood Resources) of the Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, Australia. We thank Forestry Tasmania for the opportunity to sample from the Goulds Country thinning trial and for providing the annual growth data to allow intra-specific competition levels to be calculated. Cores were collected by Bruce Greaves and Trevor Innes. We thank Linda Ballard and Helen Bond for preparation of the cores and Sharee Harper (CSIRO) for the SilviScan™ analysis of the samples. We thank David Blackburn, Paul Adams and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism of an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRC for Forestry, Private Bag 12, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Jane Medhurst, Geoff Downes, Maria Ottenschlaeger, Chris Harwood & Chris Beadle

  2. School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Jane Medhurst

  3. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Private Bag 12, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Geoff Downes, Maria Ottenschlaeger, Chris Harwood & Chris Beadle

  4. CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, Private Bag 33, Clayton South MDC, VIC, 3169, Australia

    Rob Evans

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  1. Jane Medhurst
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  2. Geoff Downes
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  4. Chris Harwood
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Correspondence to Chris Harwood.

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Communicated by Y. Sano.

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Medhurst, J., Downes, G., Ottenschlaeger, M. et al. Intra-specific competition and the radial development of wood density, microfibril angle and modulus of elasticity in plantation-grown Eucalyptus nitens . Trees 26, 1771–1780 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0746-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0746-z

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