Strength properties of wind- and snow-damaged stems of Picea sitchensis and Pinus sylvestris in comparison with undamaged trees

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 595-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
A D Cameron ◽  
R A Dunham

This study compared the strength properties of wood taken from Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees damaged as a result of wind and snow. The spruce trees were located in triplets of stems of similar diameter that had snapped, overturned (i.e., uprooted), or remained undamaged as a result of wind and snow. The pine trees were located in pairs of similar-sized stems that had snapped or remained undamaged. None of the pine trees overturned. Clear wood (wood without knots and sloping grain) from the outer part of the stem of snapped Sitka spruce and Scots pine trees was less stiff (lower modulus of elasticity (MOE)) than wood taken from the same location from overturned (spruce only) or standing trees. Modulus of rupture and density were unaffected. Damaged trees of both species were found to have significantly more compression wood within the test samples in comparison with undamaged trees. These findings suggest that trees that either overturn or snap are bending more than undamaged trees (because of their low MOE) thereby introducing a greater component of crown weight to the overall forces acting on the stem, and that this may be associated with compression wood.

Holzforschung ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riikka Rautiainen ◽  
Raimo Alén

Abstract First-thinning Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and the outer (containing long fibers) and inner (containing short fibers) parts of its stem wood were delignified on a laboratory scale by kraft pulping followed by oxygen-alkali delignification and bleaching with D0(EO)D1(EP)D2. The aim was to evaluate the potential use of the bleached pulps as reinforcing material in various mechanical and chemical pulps. The physical and optical properties of the pulps indicated that only the “outer part pulp”, with rather similar properties to those of a reference softwood kraft pulp, seemed suitable for this purpose. In contrast, materials from first-thinning stem wood and its inner part resulted in lower yields as early as the kraft pulping stage. Rather mediocre strength properties were obtained, but the bleached kraft pulps prepared from the two first thinning-based materials had good optical properties.


The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362199465
Author(s):  
Dael Sassoon ◽  
William J Fletcher ◽  
Alastair Hotchkiss ◽  
Fern Owen ◽  
Liting Feng

Around 4000 cal yr BP, Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris) suffered a widespread demise across the British Isles. This paper presents new information about P. sylvestris populations found in the Welsh Marches (western central Britain), for which the long-term history and origins are poorly known. Two new pollen records were produced from the Lin Can Moss ombrotrophic bog (LM18) and the Breidden Hill pond (BH18). The LM18 peat core is supported by loss-on-ignition, humification analysis and radiocarbon dating. Lead concentrations were used to provide an estimated timeframe for the recent BH18 record. In contrast to many other Holocene pollen records from the British Isles, analysis of LM18 reveals that Scots pine grains were deposited continuously between c. 6900–300 cal yr BP, at frequencies of 0.3–5.4%. It is possible that individual Scots pine trees persisted through the wider demise on thin soils of steep drought-prone crags of hills or the fringes of lowland bogs in the Welsh Marches. At BH18, the record indicates a transition from broadleaved to mixed woodland, including conifer species introduced around AD 1850 including Picea and Pinus. The insights from BH18 suggest that the current populations may largely be the result of planting. Comparison of the LM18 findings with other regional pollen records highlights consistent patterns, including a Mid-Holocene maximum (ca. 7000 cal yr BP), long-term persistence at low pollen percentages and a Late-Holocene minimum (ca. 3000 cal yr BP). These distinctive trends encourage further studies on refugial areas for Scots pine in this region and elsewhere.


2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasyl I. Yoschenko ◽  
Valery A. Kashparov ◽  
Maxim D. Melnychuk ◽  
Svjatoslav E. Levchuk ◽  
Yulia O. Bondar ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
W L Mason ◽  
T Connolly

Abstract Six experiments were established between 1955 and 1962 in different parts of northern and western Britain which used replicated randomized block designs to compare the performance of two species 50:50 mixtures with pure stands of the component species. The species involved were variously lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi Lamb. Carr.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis Bong. Carr.) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla Raf. Sarg.). The first four species are light demanding, while Sitka spruce is of intermediate shade tolerance and western hemlock is very shade tolerant: only Scots pine and silver birch are native to Great Britain. In three experiments (Bickley, Ceannacroc, Hambleton), the mixtures were of two light-demanding species, while at the other three sites, the mixture tested contained species of different shade tolerance. The experiments were followed for around 50 years, similar to a full rotation of even-aged conifer stands in Britain. Five experiments showed a tendency for one species to dominate in mixture, possibly reflecting differences in the shade tolerance or other functional traits of the component species. In the three experiments, the basal area of the mixtures at the last assessment was significantly higher than predicted based on the performance of the pure stands (i.e. the mixture ‘overyielded’). In two of these cases, the mixture had had a higher basal area than found in the more productive pure stand indicating ‘transgressive overyielding’. Significant basal area differences were generally more evident at the later assessment date. The exception was in a Scots pine: western hemlock mixture where greater overyielding at the earlier date indicated a nursing (‘facilitation’) effect. In the remaining experiments, the performance of the mixture conformed to predictions from the growth of the component species in pure stands. Taken overall, the results suggest that functional traits can be used to interpret the performance of mixtures but prediction of the outcome will require better understanding of the interplay between species and site characteristics plus the influence of silvicultural interventions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
B. Bergström ◽  
R. Gref ◽  
A. Ericsson

The object of this study was to investigate the effect of pruning on heartwood formation in mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees. Fifty trees were treated by three different intensive pruning regimes: 42, 60 and 70 percentage of defoliation. After five growing seasons numbers of growth rings were counted and the width and the area of sapwood and heartwood were calculated. The results did not show any proportional increase or decrease in the heartwood area or in the number of growth rings in heartwood associated with the pruning. A statistically significant negative effect of pruning was found on the width of the five most recently formed sapwood growth rings. This decreased growth rate did not influence the ratio of sapwood and heartwood. However, it cannot be excluded that the proportion of heartwood may increase during a longer period. It is concluded that pruning is not a practicable silvicultural method for regulating heartwood formation in mature Scots pine trees.


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