CONTEXT Wood specific gravity is a key element in tropical forest ecology. It integrates many aspects of tree mechanical properties and functioning and is an important predictor of tree biomass. Wood specific gravity varies widely among and within species and also within individual trees. Notably, contrasted patterns of radial variation of wood specific gravity have been demonstrated and relate...

There is a growing interest to use acoustic sensors for selection in tree breeding to ensure high wood quality of future plantations. In this study, we assessed acoustic velocity as a selection trait for the improvement of mechanical wood properties in two 15and 32-year-old white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench.] Voss) genetic tests. Individual heritability of acoustic velocity was moderate and of...

Three wood species, eucalyptus grandis (E. grandis), southern pine (S. pine), and Norway spruce thermomechanical pulp (N. spruce TMP) were pretreated by dissolution in the ionic liquid (IL) 1-allyl-3methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl). The wood was regenerated from the ionic liquid in high yield and the recycling of the ionic liquid was nearly quantitative. The lignin contents and the efficie...

Urea-formaldehyde prepolymer and hot-press drying were used to improve the properties of poplar wood. The wood was impregnated with the prepolymer using a pulse-dipping machine. The impregnated timbers were compressed and dried by a multilayer hot-press drying kiln. The drying rate was more rapid during the chemical modification and hotpress drying than conventional kiln-drying. In addition, th...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of thinning intensity on wood properties, such as heartwood proportion, wood basic density, and stem form of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.). The thinning trial was established on a teak plantation in a humid tropical site in northern Costa Rica. The moderate and heavy thinnings yielded the highest percentage of heartwood volume (25 to 30% of total s...

Most research on the carbon content of trees has focused on temperate tree species with little information existing for tropical tree species. Questions remain regarding how much carbon can be sequestered by various tree species and in different forest climatic zones. This study was designed to investigate the variation in carbon content of selected tropical tree species and compare the carbon ...

The mechanical properties of wood-based composites are dependent upon the properties of the wood components (e.g. wood fibers, wood strands) and the manner in which they are combined. The relationship between fiber mechanical properties and fiber-based composites has been discussed in several publications, but is best described in Page et al. (1977). This paper will focus primarily on the influ...

Challenging evaluation of tropical forest biodiversity requires the reporting of taxonomic diversity but also the systematic characterization of wood properties in order to discover new promising species for timber industry. Among wood properties, the dimensional stability is regarded as a major technological characteristic to validate whether a wood species is adapted to commercial uses. Cell ...

Wood density, moisture content, tracheid width and cell wall size were examined in trees from plots that were sprayed for 5 years with chlorothalonil (Bravo) fungicide to reduce the impact of Swiss needle cast (SNC) and from trees in adjacent unsprayed plots. The unsprayed (more heavily diseased) trees had significantly narrower sapwood, narrower growth rings, lower sapwood moisture content, an...