scholarly journals Stem injection of 15N-NH4NO3 into mature Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1130-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Nair ◽  
A. Weatherall ◽  
M. Perks ◽  
M. Mencuccini
Holzforschung ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paul McLean ◽  
Robert Evans ◽  
John R. Moore

Abstract Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is the most widely planted commercial tree species in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Because of the increasing use of this species for construction, the ability to predict wood stiffness is becoming more important. In this paper, a number of models are developed using data on cellulose abundance and orientation obtained from the SilviScan-3 system to predict the longitudinal modulus of elasticity (MOE) of small defect-free specimens. Longitudinal MOE was obtained from both bending tests and a sonic resonance technique. Overall, stronger relationships were found between the various measures of cellulose abundance and orientation and the dynamic MOE obtained from the sonic resonance measurements, rather than with the static MOE obtained from bending tests. There was only a moderate relationship between wood bulk density and dynamic MOE (R2=0.423), but this relationship was improved when density was divided by microfibril angle (R2=0.760). The best model for predicting both static and dynamic MOE involved the product of bulk density and the coefficient of variation in the azimuthal intensity profile (R2=0.725 and 0.862, respectively). The model parameters obtained for Sitka spruce differed from those obtained in earlier studies on Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus delegatensis, indicating that the model might require recalibration before it can be applied to different species.


1985 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 729-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis C. Yeh ◽  
Sven Rasmussen

Ten-year height growth for Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. was studied in a progeny test of 42 wind-pollinated families from seven stands on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Although stand and family-within-stand effects were significant sources of variation, 79% of the phenotypic variance in 10-year height was associated with differences among trees within family plots. Estimates of heritability ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]) indicate that a combination of stand, family-within-stand, and progeny-within-family selection will be effective for a long-term breeding program to increase tree heights in Sitka spruce.Key words: Picea, heritability, quantitative.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Kennedy ◽  
A.D. Cameron ◽  
S.J. Lee

The trend towards shorter rotations in planted conifer stands has resulted in a reduction in the proportion of mature wood relative to juvenile core wood, raising concerns that the mechanical performance of sawn battens will be affected. The potential to improve the wood quality of the juvenile core of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière) without compromising growth rate was investigated. Rapid and inexpensive indirect methods of assessing wood properties on standing trees using a Pilodyn gun and acoustic velocity were compared with direct measurements made on wood samples cut from the juvenile core. Strong genetic correlations were observed between Pilodyn gun values and direct measures of density (–0.76) and between the square of acoustic velocity and modulus of elasticity (0.73). The genetic correlation between the square of acoustic velocity and microfibril angle was also strong (–0.84). These results suggest that indirect assessments of wood properties within juvenile core wood are sufficiently reliable for these techniques to be used in the Sitka spruce breeding programme. Although a strong negative genetic correlation between diameter at breast height and density was noted (–0.79), sufficient variation exists within the breeding population to select families with both good growth rate and high modulus of elasticity wood.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Juliane Kuckuk ◽  
Sibren van Manen ◽  
Ólafur Eggertsson ◽  
Edda Sigurdís Oddsdóttir ◽  
Jan Esper

The green spruce aphid Elatobium abietinum is an important defoliating pest of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) in Iceland. A comparison of two urban Sitka stands in Reykjavík, from 2013-2017, reveals a distinct defoliation difference between trees located near a main road (94% defoliated) and several hundred meters away from heavy traffic (47%). Chemical analyses of the spruce needles demonstrate substantially higher nitrogen ratios in trees near traffic. Furthermore, the recently warming winter temperatures promoted larger overwintering aphid populations since 2003, as well as a shift of mass outbreaks from autumn to spring, accompanied by distinct growth suppressions one year after an aphid population spike in the post-2003 tree-ring data. The results of this study indicate that the mechanisms triggering Sitka spruce dieback in Reykjavík include a combination of increasing winter temperatures, more frequent and severe green spruce aphid outbreaks, as well as elevated N values in the needles of urban trees.


1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Tomlin ◽  
John H. Borden ◽  
Harold D. Pierce Jr.

Cortical resin acids were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively among 10 provenances and 11 genotypes of Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis Bong (Carr.), putatively resistant to the white pine weevil, Pissodes strobi (Peck), and compared with susceptible trees. Trees in 5 of the 11 resistant genotypes had significantly greater amounts of cortical resin acid than susceptible trees. Of seven individual acids analyzed, pimaric, isopimaric, levopimaric, dehydroabietic, abietic, and neoabietic acid, but not palustric acid, were found in significantly greater amounts in trees from resistant than susceptible provenances. Eighteen percent of the variation in resin acid content could be accounted for by variation in the capacity of cortical resin ducts, indicating that the other 82% of variation is a result of differences in resin acid concentration in the resin. Trees with very high resin acid levels may have a greater capacity for resinosis than susceptible trees, may deter feeding, or may produce resin that is toxic to eggs and larvae. Canonical discriminant analysis revealed that several resistant clones, particularly two from the Kitwanga provenance, could be distinguished from others on the basis of their resin acid profiles. Because it separated trees on the basis of genotype, but not according to degree of resistance, canonical discriminant analysis may be more useful in "chemotyping" trees than in screening for resistance. Keywords: Picea, cortex, resin acids, Pissodes strobi, resistance.


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