Genetic, site, and within-three variation in specific gravity and moisture content of young sycamore trees
Specific gravities (SG), moisture contents (MC), and green volumes were determined for stem wood, stem bark, limb wood, and limb bark of 822 six-year-old sycamore trees growing in progeny-test plantations at five sites in Mississippi. Volume was distributed as follows: stem wood (66%), stem bark (7%), limb wood (23%), and limb bark (4%). Specific gravities of both wood and bark declined with increasing height in the stem, but bark SG was greater than wood SG at large diameters and less than wood SG at small diameters. Moisture contents increased with increasing height in the stem. Neither SG nor MC was affected greatly by limb diameter size within the range of 0 to 4 cm. Limb wood SG was consistently greater than stem wood SG. Sites differed in SG and MC, with those sites providing the fastest volume growth having the lowest SG and highest MC. Genetic variation among trees within stands was highly significant for SG and MC, and there was no genetic correlation of these two wood properties with volume. Heritabilities for mass selection were 0.68 for stem wood SG, 0.14 for stem bark SG, 0.25 for stem MC, and 0.08 for stem volume. No genetic differences among geographic sources and no genotype-by-site interactions were detected. Opportunities for genetic improvement are discussed, and implications for utilization of short-rotation sycamore plantations are considered.
- Research Organization:
- Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State (USA); Texas A and M Univ., College Station (USA); Associated Resource Consultants, Flagstaff, AZ (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 7086422
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-820858-1; ON: DE82020813
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industries conference, Asheville, NC, USA, 30 Aug 1982; Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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09 BIOMASS FUELS
SYCAMORES
DENSITY
FORESTRY
MOISTURE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GENETIC VARIABILITY
PLANT GROWTH
VARIATIONS
WOOD
BIOLOGICAL VARIABILITY
DATA
GROWTH
INFORMATION
NUMERICAL DATA
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TREES
553000* - Agriculture & Food Technology
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