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Sanni Raiskila, Pekka Saranpää (email), Kurt Fagerstedt, Tapio Laakso, Mia Löija, Riitta Mahlberg, Leena Paajanen, Anne-Christine Ritschkoff

Growth rate and wood properties of Norway spruce cutting clones on different sites

Raiskila S., Saranpää P., Fagerstedt K., Laakso T., Löija M., Mahlberg R., Paajanen L., Ritschkoff A.-C. (2006). Growth rate and wood properties of Norway spruce cutting clones on different sites. Silva Fennica vol. 40 no. 2 article id 341. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.341

Abstract

The effect of growth rate on weight density and strength properties of three Norway spruce cutting clones growing on three different sites in different geographic locations was studied. The purpose was to follow variation in wood physical and mechanical properties and in quality between fast-growing clones grown in environments differing in nutritional and soil properties and climate within the boreal zone. The cloned trees had been selected on grounds of good growth, health and quality. The cuttings were collected from three-year-old seedlings and rooted. The rooted cuttings were planted in the 1970’s and they were on average 26 years old at a time of felling. The variation of weight density was studied within the annual ring and within the stem between the juvenile and mature wood from the pith to the bark with an X-ray densitometric method. The average annual ring width (and latewood proportion, %) varied between the clones from 2.92±1.36 mm (15.34%) to 3.30±1.25 mm (11.80%) and between the sites from 2.76±1.07 mm (14.71%) to 3.70±1.22 mm (13.29%). The mean weight density was 0.461±0.077 g cm–3 and latewood density 0.750±0.125 g cm–3 in this material. The mean modulus of elasticity was 9.88±1.43 GPa, modulus of rupture 67.51±11.50 MPa and weight density of the test samples (ρ12) 414±44 kg m–3 in mature wood. The parameters studied showed clearly that the environment had a large effect while the three clones differed from each other similarly in the different sites, e.g. the fastest growing clone was fastest on all sites.

Keywords
Norway spruce; density; growth rate; mechanical strength; modulus of elasticity; modulus of rupture

Author Info
  • Raiskila, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Unit, P.O. Box 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail sr@nn.fi
  • Saranpää, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Unit, P.O. Box 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail pekka.saranpaa@metla.fi (email)
  • Fagerstedt, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Plant Biology, P.O. Box 65, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail kf@nn.fi
  • Laakso, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Unit, P.O. Box 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail tl@nn.fi
  • Löija, VTT Building and Transport, P.O. Box 1806, FI-02044 VTT, Finland E-mail lm@nn.fi
  • Mahlberg, VTT Building and Transport, P.O. Box 1806, FI-02044 VTT, Finland E-mail rm@nn.fi
  • Paajanen, VTT Building and Transport, P.O. Box 1806, FI-02044 VTT, Finland E-mail lp@nn.fi
  • Ritschkoff, VTT Building and Transport, P.O. Box 1806, FI-02044 VTT, Finland E-mail acr@nn.fi

Received 27 September 2005 Accepted 14 February 2006 Published 31 December 2006

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Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.341 | Download PDF

Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0

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