Effect of midrotation fertilization on growth and specific gravity of loblolly pine

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 928-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finto Antony ◽  
Lewis Jordan ◽  
Richard F. Daniels ◽  
Laurence R. Schimleck ◽  
Alexander Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Wood Property ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Wood Properties ◽  
Fertilization Rate ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Property Changes

Wood properties and growth were measured on breast-height cores and on disks collected at different heights from a thinned and fertilized midrotation loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) plantation in the lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The study was laid out in a randomized complete-block design receiving four levels of nitrogen (N) fertilizer: unfertilized control and 112, 224, and 336 kg/ha plus 28 kg/ha of phosphorus with each treatment. The effect of fertilization was analyzed for the whole-disk and for a 4 year average following fertilization on data collected from breast-height cores and from disks. The fertilization treatments did not significantly affect whole-disk wood properties but significantly increased radial growth. Fertilization rate of 336 kg/ha N significantly reduced 4 year average ring specific gravity and latewood specific gravity. Wood properties of trees that received 112 and 224 kg/ha N were not affected following treatment. There was no height related trend in wood property changes due to fertilization. Fertilization significantly increased ring basal area and earlywood basal area. In summary, there was a decline in wood properties and an increase in basal area growth immediately after fertilization; both depended on the rate of fertilizer applied irrespective of height.

scholarly journals Effect of Fertilization on Growth and Wood Properties of Thinned and Unthinned Midrotation Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) Stands

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finto Antony ◽  
Laurence R. Schimleck ◽  
Richard F. Daniels ◽  
Alexander Clark
Keyword(s):  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilization ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Wood Properties ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Four Blocks ◽  
Earlywood Width ◽  
Pinus Taeda L

Abstract Growth and wood properties were measured on breast height cores collected from two stands, New Bern and Bertie, located in the lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The New Bern site was thinned before fertilizer application, and the Bertie site was not. The study was laid out in a randomized complete block design with each treatment replicated in four blocks at New Bern and two blocks at Bertie. The treatments were different levels of nitrogen fertilization: control (no nitrogen) and 112, 224, and 336 kg/ha. In addition, 28 kg/ha of phosphorus was included with each treatment. The objective of this study was to examine the response in growth and wood properties to midrotation fertilization in a thinned versus an unthinned stand. A significant decrease in latewood specific gravity was observed following nitrogen fertilization in the thinned stand but not in the unthinned stand. Whole ring width, latewood width, and earlywood width significantly increased following nitrogen fertilization at New Bern but not at Bertie. Whole ring specific gravity, earlywood specific gravity, latewood percentage, and earlywood:latewood ratio did not show any change due to fertilization in either stand. Responses in both growth and wood characteristics lasted for 2–3 years following fertilization and depended on the amount of fertilizer applied and whether or not the site was thinned. The response to nitrogen application was significant for the thinned stand only.

The Effect of Mid-Rotation Fertilization on the Wood Properties of Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda)

IAWA Journal ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finto Antony ◽  
Lewis Jordan ◽  
Laurence R. Schimleck ◽  
Richard F. Daniels ◽  
Alexander Clark III
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Microfibril Angle ◽  
Wood Properties ◽  
Dry Density ◽  
Fertilizer Treatment ◽  
Annual Growth Rings ◽  
Anatomical Properties ◽  
Four Levels

Mid-rotation fertilization is a common practice in the management of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations, typically providing large improvements in growth. However, concerns exist about the quality of wood produced following fertilization. The objective of this study was to develop an understanding of wood property changes following fertilization. Wood samples from a study involving four levels of fertilization applied to a thinned mid-rotation loblolly pine plantation located on the lower coastal plain of North Carolina were sampled. The study was laid out in a randomized complete block design involving four blocks and four levels of nitrogen fertilizer: Control-000, 112, 224 and 336 kg/ha, along with 28 kg/ha of phosphorus with all treatments. Thirty-two trees were felled and disks were cut at five heights from each tree. Wood properties including modulus of elasticity, air-dry density and tracheid anatomical properties were measured for each of the three post-fertilization annual growth rings using near infrared (NIR) spectra obtained from the radial face of strips cut from the disks. An analysis of variance was conducted on three-year basal area weighted average stiffness, air-dry density, and tracheid anatomical properties. A decrease in stiffness, air-dry density, tracheid wall thickness, and an increase in tracheid radial diameter were observed for the heaviest fertilizer treatment (336 kg/ha) compared to the control and 112 kg/ha of nitrogen. Microfibril angle (MFA), cell tangential diameter, and tracheid perimeter showed little change. Wood properties of trees receiving fertilizer rates of 112 and 224 kg/ha were not significantly affected.

Identification of representative sampling heights for specific gravity and moisture content in plantation-grown loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 574-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finto Antony ◽  
Laurence R. Schimleck ◽  
Richard F. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Wood Properties ◽  
Representative Sampling ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Sampling Height ◽  
Pinus Taeda L ◽  
Whole Tree

Conventionally, increment cores collected at breast height (1.4 m) have been used to measure wood properties of standing loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees. This height has been used because of the ease of sampling and cost involved in extracting the cores. In this study, the efficacy of a breast-height core to represent whole-tree specific gravity (SG) and moisture content (MC) was examined. The sampling height that best represents whole-tree SG and MC was identified using the correlation between volume-weighted whole-tree SG and MC with SG and MC measurements collected at different heights within a tree. We found a high correlation between observed whole-disk SG and MC with volume-weighted whole-tree SG and MC at most sampling heights. The strength of the correlation followed a skewed parabolic curve form for both wood properties. The strongest correlations were observed between 4.6 and 6.1 m, with marginally lower correlations at the base of the tree, and the weakest correlations were observed towards the tip of the tree. In addition, it was found that the number of stands and trees that need to be sampled to achieve a certain accuracy in overall mean whole-tree SG and MC was greater if breast height was used as a sampling height compared with the most representative sampling heights identified (4.6 m for SG and 6.1 m for MC).

scholarly journals Bedding and Fertilization Ameliorate Effects of Designated Wet-Weather Skid Trails after Four Years for Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Plantations

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Michael Aust ◽  
James A. Burger ◽  
William H. McKee ◽  
Gregory A. Scheerer ◽  
Mark D. Tippett
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Water Movement ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Site Productivity ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Wet Weather ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Wet-weather harvesting operations on wet pine fiats can cause soil disturbances that may reduce long-term site productivity. Site preparation and fertilization are often recommended as ameliorative practices for such disturbances, but few studies have actually quantified their effects on restoration. The purposes of this study were to quantify the effects of wet-weather harvest traffic in designated skid trails on soil properties and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) growth, and to evaluate the ameliorative effects of site preparation. Study sites were established on wet pine flats of the lower Coastal Plain within the Francis Marion National Forest (Berkeley County, SC). Treatments were arranged in a split-split plot within a randomized complete block design. Treatments were two levels of traffic (nontrafficked, trafficked), four levels of mechanical site preparation (none, disking, bedding, disking + bedding), and two levels of fertilization (none, 337 kg /ha of 10-10-10 fertilizer). initially, the trafficking increased soil bulk densities and reduced soil water movement and subsequent growth of loblolly pine (years 1 and 2). Bedding combined with fertilization restored site productivity to non trafficked levels within 4 yr, but disking or fertilization treatments alone were not effective at ameliorating the traffic effects. The effectiveness of the bedding and fertilization treatments for amelioration of traffic effects was probably facilitated by the relatively small area of disturbed skid trails (<10%) found on these sites. Areas having more severe disturbance or higher percentages of disturbance might not be ameliorated as rapidly. South. J. Appl. For. 22(4):222-226.

scholarly journals Growth After Thinning a 35-Year-Old Natural Stand to Different Loblolly Pine and Hardwood Basal Areas

1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-174
Author(s):  
Michael G. Shelton ◽  
Paul A. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Timber Production ◽  
Product Class ◽  
Randomized Complete Block Design ◽  
Timber Products ◽  
Total Growth ◽  
Area And Volume

Abstract Growth was monitored for 4 yr in a thinned stand in southern Arkansas with three pine basal areas (70, 85, and 100 ft2/ac) and three hardwood basal areas (0, 15, and 30 ft2/ac); pretreatment basal areas averaged 119 and 33 ft2/ac for pines and hardwoods, respectively. Treatments were arranged in a 3 X 3 factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates, yielding 27 permanent 0.20 ac plots. Growth variables were regressed with residual pine and hardwood basal areas. Pine basal area and volume growth increased with the pine stocking level after thinning and decreased with the level of retained hardwoods. For basal area and merchantable volume, hardwood growth largely compensated for losses in the pine component, and thus, hardwood retention had little net effect on the total growth of the stand. The greatest impact of hardwood retention was on the stand's sawtimber growth, because hardwoods did not contribute to this product class. Each 1 ft2/ac of retained hardwood basal area reduced pine sawtimber growth by 6 to 10 bd ft Doyle/ac/yr, depending on the pine stocking. Because large differences existed in the value of timber products, retaining 15 and 30 ft2/ac of hardwoods reduced the value of timber production by 13 and 24%, respectively, at 4 yr after thinning. South. J. Appl. For. 21(4):168-174.

scholarly journals EFICIÊNCIA DE DUAS VARIAÇÕES ESTRUTURAIS DO MÉTODO DE AMOSTRAGEM DE ÁREA FIXA EM PLANTAÇÕES DE Pinus taeda

FLORESTA ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 621
Author(s):  
João Paulo Druszcz ◽  
Nelson Yoshihiro Nakajima ◽  
Sylvio Pellico Netto ◽  
Sebastião do Amaral Machado ◽  
Nelson Carlos Rosot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Relative Efficiency ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Variable Diameter ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Fixed Area ◽  
Pinus Taeda L

Este estudo foi conduzido em três diferentes condições de plantações de Pinus taeda L., sem desbastes, com 10, 9 e 7 anos de idade, 2.000 árvores por hectare e diferentes inclinações no terreno, localizados no Estado do Paraná. O objetivo foi avaliar a eficiência do inventário florestal, utilizando-se a amostragem de área fixa com a estrutura de parcela circular (PC) e conglomerado em cruz (CC), através da análise do comportamento quanto às precisões e eficiências relativas nas estimativas das seguintes variáveis: diâmetro médio (cm), número de árvores por ha, área basal (m2/ha) e volume total (m3/ha). Para isso, utilizou-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados com 40 unidades amostrais para a PC e 10 unidades para o CC, sendo este composto por 4 subunidades circulares. Concluiu-se que, para as variáveis diâmetro médio (cm), número de árvores (N/ha), área basal (m2/ha) e volume total (m3/ha), indica-se a utilização do método de área fixa com PC, tendo em vista a maior eficiência no levantamento dessas variáveis.Palavras-chave: Eficiência relativa; precisão; reflorestamento. AbstractStructural efficiency of two variations of method of sampling of fixed area in plantations of Pinus taeda. This study was carried out in three different stands of Pinus taeda L., unthinned and aged 10, 9 and 7 years. The stands have 2.000 trees per hectare and are located in Parana State. The aim was to evaluate the efficiency of inventories using circular plot (PC) and cross cluster (CC) by analyses of behavior towards accuracies and relative efficiencies for estimation of the following variables: average diameter at breast height, number of trees, basal area and total volume per hectare. For this study, it was taken a sample of 40 units to the PC structure and 10 units for the CC structure, which is composed of four circular subunits, and it was used the randomized block design. It was concluded that for the variable diameter (cm), number of trees (ha), basal area (m2/ha) and total volume (m3/ha) it is indicated the use of PC, since its greater efficiency in the survey of these variables.Keywords: Relative efficiency; accuracy; reforestation.

scholarly journals Prediction of Whole-Stem α-Cellulose Yield, Lignin Content, and Wood Density in Juvenile and Mature Loblolly Pine

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Aspinwall ◽  
Bailian Li ◽  
Steven E. McKeand ◽  
Fikret Isik ◽  
Marcia L. Gumpertz
Keyword(s):  
Wood Density ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Lignin Content ◽  
Property Values ◽  
Wood Property ◽  
Stem Wood ◽  
Cellulose Yield ◽  
Weighted Averages ◽  
Breast Height

Abstract Models were developed for predicting whole-stem α-cellulose yield, lignin content, and wood density in 14- and 20-year-old loblolly pine across three different sites. Also, the relationships between juvenile-, transition-, and mature-wood α-cellulose yield, lignin content, and wood density at breast-height and overall whole-stem wood property values were examined. Whole-stem wood property weighted averages were calculated by taking 12-mm core samples at breast height and at 2.4-m incremental heights up each tree, and breast-height wood property values were then used to predict whole-stem weighted averages. Despite large differences in growth across sites and both ages, whole-stem models based on whole cores taken at breast height were not significantly different among sites, and coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.87, 0.74, and 0.78 for α-cellulose, lignin, and wood density, respectively. Generally, whole-stem prediction models based on sections of wood at breast height were not significantly different among sites and were less effective than cores as predictors, explaining between 39 and 82% of the variation in whole-stem wood traits. The results of this study indicate that the relationship between breast height and whole-stem wood chemical properties (and density) is predictable and consistent across sites in both juvenile and mature loblolly pine.

Growth and wood quality of young loblolly pine trees in relation to stand density and climatic factors

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 851-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Cregg ◽  
P. M. Dougherty ◽  
T. C. Hennessey
Keyword(s):  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Basal Area Growth ◽  
Area Growth ◽  
Summer Growth ◽  
Stand Basal Area

A 10-year-old stand of loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) in southeastern Oklahoma was thinned to three target basal-area levels: 5.8, 11.5, and 23 m2•ha−1 (control). Specific gravity, latewood percentage, date of transition from earlywood to latewood, growth, and climate variables were measured for 2 years after thinning. Variation in the measured wood properties was more influenced by climatic variation than by the thinning treatments. Diameter growth and per-tree basal-area growth were significantly greater on the thinned treatments both years after thinning. However, stand basal-area growth was greatest on the unthinned treatment. Basal-area growth rates were significantly related to stand basal area, tree size, soil water potential, and air temperature. Early in the summer, growth was positively related to mean daily temperature, while later in the summer, growth was negatively related to mean daily temperature, reflecting the influence of high-temperature stress on growth. A year with high summer rainfall (1984) resulted in wood with a higher percentage of latewood and higher specific gravity than wood produced in a year with low summer rainfall (1985). The date of latewood initiation was significantly related to tree size, soil moisture, and evaporative demand. The date of transition from earlywood to latewood occurred 10–14 days sooner on the unthinned plots in both years. However, annual ring latewood percentage and specific gravity were not significantly affected by thinning. Increased late-season growth rates compensated for the later transition date on the thinned treatments, resulting in no net change in ring latewood percentage due to thinning. The results indicate that individual tree basal-area growth can be increased by thinning without reducing wood density.

Identification of QTLs influencing wood property traits in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). II. Chemical wood properties

2002 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Sewell ◽  
M. F. Davis ◽  
G. A. Tuskan ◽  
N. C. Wheeler ◽  
C. C. Elam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Wood Property ◽  
Wood Properties ◽  
Pinus Taeda L

Effect of Mid-Rotation Fertilization on Stiffness and Strength of Loblolly Pine Wood

IAWA Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finto Antony ◽  
Laurence R. Schimleck ◽  
Richard F. Daniels ◽  
Alexander Clark
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizer ◽  
Modulus Of Elasticity ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Modulus Of Rupture ◽  
Significant Treatment Effect ◽  
Significant Treatment ◽  
Randomized Complete Block Design ◽  
Four Levels

Trees sampled from a loblolly pine mid-rotation fertilization trial were used in this study. The study was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four levels of nitrogen fertilizer as treatments: control (000N), 112 (112N), 224 (224N), and 336 (336N) kg/ha of nitrogen, with each treatment replicated in 4 blocks. Two trees were destructively sampled from each plot giving a total of 32 trees. Bolts 0.6 m in length were collected from each tree (3 bolts per tree); with the midpoint of each bolt at heights of 2.4, 7.3 and 12.2 m from the base of the tree (each bolt represented the midpoint of standard 4.9 m saw logs). Static bending samples with dimensions 25 by 25 by 406 mm (radial, tangential and longitudinal dimensions respectively) were cut from the bolts that included the 25 mm of wood produced immediately following fertilization. Data on modulus of elasticity (MOE, stiffness) and modulus of rupture (MOR, strength) were collected from clear static bending samples. Based on the analysis of variance, no significant treatment effect was observed on MOE and MOR. However, MOE and MOR decreased in wood produced immediately after fertilization for trees which received the highest level of fertilization (336N). A decreasing trend in MOE and MOR with height was also present.

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