Modelling wood density in European oak (Quercuspetraea and Quercusrobur) and simulating the silvicultural influence

Abstract

Wood density in relation to cambial age and ring width was studied in 23 trees of European oak (Quercuspetraea (Matt) Liebl. and Quercusrobur L.) from northeast France, and based on these relationships, a model predicting intratree wood density through cambial age and ring width was developed. Wood density is closely correlated with both cambial age and ring width, but its relationships with cambial age and ring width, to some extent, vary from tree to tree. The variation, however, does not show an appreciable pattern with tree height. The model developed is able to predict satisfactorily the average wood density of growth rings in European oak, and to explain the main part of the variation in wood density of individual trees. Furthermore, the model appears also possible to predict the average density of a given small piece of wood from any part of the merchantable bole of the trees. A general model, however, accounts for a relatively low percentage of the variation because there is large intertree variability of wood density in the species. The simulation results reveal that the dynamic silviculture applied to European oak might result in the production of denser and more uniform (in the sense of the radial variation of wood density) wood, compared with classical silviculture.