SUGAR PRODUCTION BY WHITE AND YELLOW BIRCHES

1944 ◽  
Vol 22c (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. P. V. Johnson

White and yellow birch trees produced an abundance of sap, but the yield of sugar was on the average only about one-third that of the sugar maple. Results indicate that yellow birch sap contains invert sugar with small amounts of sucrose, and that white birch sap contains a mixture of fructose and invert sugar. Syrups prepared from white and yellow birch saps by concentrating 100 times were similar in taste and appearance to commercial corn syrup.

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. C. Jones ◽  
I. Alli

During the spring of 1984 and 1985, white birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh), sweet birch (B. lenta L), and yellow birch (B. alleghaniensis Britt.) were tapped to determine sap yields and syrup characteristics. These properties were compared with sap yields and syrup produced from sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh) and red maple (A. rubrum L). The sap flow seasons were as follows: white birch, 23 days (April 7–29, 1984) and 29 days (April 5 – May 3, 1985); sweet birch, 26 days (1984); yellow birch, 25 days (1985). The sap flow season for the maple species was much earlier than the birch species. Maple sap flow seasons were as follows: sugar maple, 16 days (March 28 – April 12, 1984) and 45 days (March 10 – April 23, 1985); red maple, 44 days (March 11 – April 23, 1985). Sap yields were as follows: white birch, 80.5 L in 1984 (1.0% sap) 51.0 L in 1985 (1.0% sap); sweet birch, 48.0 L in 1984 (0.5% sap); yellow birch, 28.4 L in 1985 (0.5% sap); red maple, 30.6 L in 1985 (2.3% sap); sugar maple, 53.5 L in 1985 (4.5% sap). Sap analyses showed the average total carbohydrate content of all birch saps and all maple saps was 9.2 and 24.5 g/L, respectively. The average sugar contents of the syrups from the birch saps and the maple saps were 302 and 711 g/L, respectively. The average pH of birch and maple saps were similar but the average pH of the syrups obtained from the birch saps was substantially lower than that of the syrups obtained from the maple saps.


1971 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Lavallée ◽  
Alain Bard

Xylem of sugar maple and yellow birch trees were exposed to natural infection by making axe blazes to simulate mechanical injuries. After 8, 21, and 34 months, dissection and isolations made from the discolored wood permitted the localization of certain microorganisms in three arbitrarily determined zones. Longitudinal and radial development of discoloration associated with wounds was more rapid in yellow birch than in sugar maple. There was evidence of a succession of organisms in the colonization of the wounds which was subsequent to the first discoloration process and involved different organisms in the two hosts. In general, decay fungi did not appear until after 21 months. Cytosporadecipiens occurred exclusively in discolored wood of sugar maple while Phialophora spp. and Cephalosporium sp. dominated the discolored wood of yellow birch. Bacteria were more frequent in yellow birch than in sugar maple. Relationships between size of injuries, linear extent of the discoloration produced, and identity of the various organisms involved are also presented.


1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Arthur ◽  
T G Siccama ◽  
R D Yanai

Improving estimates of the nutrient content of boles in forest ecosystems requires more information on how the chemistry of wood varies with characteristics of the tree and site. We examined Ca and Mg concentrations in wood at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Species examined were the dominant tree species of the northern hardwood forest and the spruce-fir forest. The concentrations of Ca and Mg, respectively, in lightwood of these species, mass weighted by elevation, were 661 and 145 µg/g for sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), 664 and 140 µg/g for American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), 515 and 93 µg/g for yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), 525 and 70 µg/g for red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), 555 and 118 µg/g for balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), and 393 and 101 µg/g for white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.). There were significant patterns in Ca and Mg concentrations with wood age. The size of the tree was not an important source of variation. Beech showed significantly greater concentrations of both Ca (30%) and Mg (33%) in trees growing in moist sites relative to drier sites; sugar maple and yellow birch were less sensitive to mesotopography. In addition to species differences in lightwood chemistry, Ca and Mg concentrations in wood decreased with increasing elevation, coinciding with a pattern of decreasing Ca and Mg in the forest floor. Differences in Ca and Mg concentration in lightwood accounted for by elevation ranged from 12 to 23% for Ca and 16 to 30% for Mg for the three northern hardwood species. At the ecosystem scale, the magnitude of the elevational effect on lightwood chemistry, weighted by species, amounts to 18% of lightwood Ca in the watershed and 24% of lightwood Mg but only 2% of aboveground biomass Ca and 7% of aboveground Mg.


1959 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 893-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Timell

Partial hydrolysis of the main hemicellulose constituent of sugar maple (Acersaccharum) has yielded D-xylose, D-galacturonic acid, 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic acid, and 2-O-(4-O-methyl-α-D-glucosyluronic acid)-D-xylose. Hydrolysis of the fully methylated polysaccharide gave a mixture of 2-O- and 3-O-methyl-D-xylose, 2,3-di-O-methyl-D-xylose, 2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-D-xylose, and 2-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-α-D-glucosyluronic acid)-3-O-methyl-D-xylose in a mole ratio of 3:111:1:12. The number-average degrees of polymerization of the native and the methylated polysaccharide were 205 and 149, respectively. These data indicate that the hemicellulose is composed of a linear chain of 1,4-linked β-D-xylose residues and that on the average every tenth residue of the chain carries a terminal 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic acid residue attached through its C2. The structure of the polysaccharide is similar to that of the main hemicellulose component of European beech, white birch, and yellow birch.


1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1552-1556
Author(s):  
Barry Goodell ◽  
Johannes P. Hosli ◽  
Bradley Kropp

Twenty sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) and 20 white birch trees (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.), all containing columns of decayed or discolored wood, were bored and injected with one of three dosages of chloropicrin or were left untreated. One year after treatment, four trees of each species were felled and dissected. The wood was then analyzed for fumigant concentration and assayed for the presence of fungi. All remaining trees were inspected yearly for adverse response to treatment. Three years after treatment, dieback and leaf discoloration were apparent in birch trees treated with moderate to high dosages of chloropicrin. No adverse response to treatment was apparent in any maple tree or in birch trees treated with low dosages of chloropicrin. In the dissected trees, chloropicrin vapors were generally detected in the interior of the trees at sites 0.5 m above and 0.5 m below the treatment site. In the higher dosage birch trees, chloropicrin was detected more frequently and in higher concentrations from outer sapwood. Control of the causal decay fungi in the trees was not ascertained in this study; however, in the birch trees, growth of opportunistic decay fungi was inhibited in sections from treated but not untreated trees.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1928-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Fortin ◽  
François Guillemette ◽  
Steve Bédard

Modelling volumes by log grades in standing hardwood trees is often hindered by the nature of the response variable. In this paper, we used a two-part conditional model to account for the excess of zero responses for some log grades. Moreover, this approach was used as a framework to compare three different tree classifications in their ability to predict volumes by log grades in standing yellow birch ( Betula alleghaniensis Britton) and sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) trees. A tree grade classification was compared with two preharvest tree classifications based on mortality risk assessment. A cross-validation was also carried out to evaluate the two parts of the model. The results showed that the two-part conditional approach was efficient in this case study. Compared with a general model, the three classifications improved the maximum likelihood. According to the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria, the tree grade classification was the “best” one. All three classifications proved to be better able to distinguish log grade occurrence than log grade volume. Although it implies additional cost, the implementation of the tree grade classification into the preharvest inventories would improve the prediction of volumes by log grades for yellow birch and sugar maple trees.


1976 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Richard ◽  
Philippe Poulin

The history of vegetation has been registered in the sediments of lake Mimi since about 11 000 BP, The initial vegetation traced is a tundra which, under severe climatic conditions, lasted for about 1000 years. The herb tundra was progressively replaced by shrub tundra: a willow phase (Salix). followed by a dwarf birch phase (Betula cf. glandulosa) have been traced. These were followed by an afforestation phase characterized by an aspen community (Populus tremuloides) al about 10 000 BP. Spruce succeeded the aspen community, probably as an open black spruce (Picea mariana) community with some dwarf birch and green alder (Alnus crispa). An outstanding Alnus cf. crispa pollen peak (48%), supported by the annual pollen influx values, at the end of the spruce phase, could be interpreted as a return of colder climate that favored the expansion of this shrub over forest. This event would date about 9750 BP. An open fir (Abies balsamea) forest followed, and changed to the balsam fir – white birch (Betula papyrifera) forest (climax domain), which prevailed until now. The richer sites supported sugar maple (Acer saccharum) – yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) community and fir – yellow birch stands since 6200 BP. Six radiocarbon dates and annual pollen influx values are offered, and some ecological problems related to the interpretation of the pollen diagram are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 568-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Koubaa ◽  
Patrick Perré ◽  
Ron M. Hutcheon ◽  
Julie Lessard

1997 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 702-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Archambault ◽  
Jacques Morissette ◽  
Michèle Bernier-Cardou

Forest successions following a forest fire that occurred in 1932 were studied on mesic sites of the boreal mixedwood forest of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. Physiographic, soil and vegetation data were collected in 28 ecosystems distributed on a topographic gradient. The vegetation composition of the main canopy, 64 years after the fire, varied according to topographic situation. The proportion of tolerant hardwood species (yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.)) increased toward upper slopes whereas it was the opposite for coniferous species (white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.)), as their proportion increased toward lower slopes. Intolerant hardwood species (white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.)) were abundant in all ecosystems. The distribution pattern of regeneration density and stocking of tolerant hardwoods and conifers was similar to that of the main canopy. The majority of commercial species, including tolerant species, established rapidly after the fire. Only eastern white cedar (Thuya occidentalis L.), which is a species typical of late succession, did not grow back. Ten years after the fire, 78% of the sampled dominant trees were established. Competition caused by mountain maple (Acer spicatum Lam.) did not seem to be as important after fire compared with the situation after clearcutting. Results showed that after the elimination of intolerant species, the vegetation composition should evolve toward the potential vegetation (climax) of the toposequence, that is, the sugar maple - yellow birch type on upper slopes, the balsam fir - yellow birch type on midslopes and the balsam fir - yellow birch - cedar type on lower slopes. Key words: succession, fire, yellow birch, balsam fir, mountain maple.


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