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The effect of initial spacing and thinning on wood quality and graded sawn recovery of mature Caribbean pine grown in Queensland.

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Zbonak, A., Harding, K., Copley, T.R. and Nester, M.R. (2010) The effect of initial spacing and thinning on wood quality and graded sawn recovery of mature Caribbean pine grown in Queensland. In: The 6th International Symposium Wood Structure and Properties ´10, September 6-9, 2010, Podbanske, High Tatras, Slovakia.

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Publisher URL: http://www.tuzvo.sk/en/fg/publisher/publisher.html

Abstract

A mature Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis) silviculture experiment provided initial square spacing treatments of 1.8 m2, 2.4 m2, 3.0 m2 and 3.6 m2 (equal to 3088, 1737, 1111 and 772 stems/ha) that were thinned at age 10 years to 600, 400 and 200 stems/ha, retaining an unthinned control for each initial spacing. The trial was destructively sampled at age of 28 years and discs taken along 8 various stem heights were analysed for variation in basic density and SilviScan wood properties. In addition, the logs from ten stocking × thinning treatments were processed in a sawing study. Results indicate thinning effects were generally more pronounced than initial spacing effects. Fast growing trees produced wood with significantly higher average wood densities and higher average stiffness values. Detailed SilviScan densitometry results obtained radially and at various stem heights enabled construction of tree maps for wood properties, providing insights into the variation in juvenile to mature wood proportion across the initial and post-thinning stocking treatments studied. Dried dressed recovery was strongly related to tree size, and log value decreased consistently from butt to top logs across all treatments. The estimated value per hectare was highest in unthinned plots due to values being multiplied by high stem numbers per hectare. However, a complete economic analysis considering all cost structures is required to investigate the optimal silviculture to maximise economic returns to growers and processors.
Improved understanding of the relationship between initial spacing, post-thinning stocking and wood and end-product quality should help to customize future forest management strategies required to produce better quality wood and wood products.

Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Corporate Creators:DEEDI, Forestry Plantations Queensland
Additional Information:© Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology of the Technical University in Zvolen. © IUFRO.
Keywords:Initial spacing; thinning; Caribbean pine; wood density; SilviScan; grade recovery.
Subjects:Forestry > Research. Experimentation
Forestry > Exploitation and utilization
Live Archive:05 Apr 2011 07:45
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:48

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