Possible Effects on Wood Quality to Expect from Accelerating Tree Growth in Europe: Tentative Answers and Questions to Accommodate : Causes and Consequences of Accelerating Tree Growth in Europe. Proceedings of the International Seminar

1999

S. 207-216

3 Abb., 14 Lit.

Unselbständiges Werk

200059179

Modern and interactive evaluation of wood quality from a tree population requires the availability of two sets of data: 1) the ring width profiles from pith to bark and from the bottom to the top of the resulting commercial logs (data provided or to be provided by individual tree growth models) as well as 2) statistical adjustments giving the determinants of the wood quality (i.e. branchiness and basic wood properties) from growth attributes (mainly ring width, RW and age from the pith, AGE), the structure of the variability/covariability of branchiness and basic wood properties being taken into account. In this paper, these adjustments will be called P = f (RW, AGE). To predict the possible effects on wood quality expected from a possible acceleration of tree growth in Europe, the effect of accelerating tree growth on ring width profiles and on P = f (RW, AGE) needs to be known. Under the hypothesis that an accelerating tree growth will lead to earlier harvest of trees having the same diameter than at present (i.e. younger trees), firstly the author indicates the consequences which can be expected for branchiness and basic wood properties (and thus for wood quality) if P = f (RW, AGE) does not change with climatic change. The cases of softwoods and hardwoods (mainly Picea abies and Quercus petraea) are considered. In the second part of the paper, the possible long term change of P = f (RW, AGE) is discussed using two types of results drawn from data already published, to be published or by re-analysing available data: 1) comparison of the P = f (RW, AGE) established separately for tree populations from contrasting pedoclimatic areas (rings initiated during the same climatic years); and 2) comparison of P = f (RW, AGE) established on the same trees from contrasting climatic periods, the effect of age from the pith having been corrected (rings initiated in the past). In the conclusions, future research is suggested mainly in the field of relationship between growth and wood quality models and resulting simulating software.