Summary
To assess the likely effects of silvicultural treatment on the wood quality of Nothofagus nervosa grown
in the UK, and the possibilities of independent selection within seed origins for density and growth
rate, ring width and wood density were analysed from pith to bark of 19 trees. Variations in vessel
lumen size, vessel number mm−2, and total lumen area mm−2 were analysed in ten trees. Since density
increased by only 0.005g cm−3 per mm increase in ring width, silvicultural practices such as initial
spacing and thinning are not likely to have a substantial effect on the wood density of rauli. Similarly,
variation in density with cambial age was significant but relatively minor in the 40- and 60-year old
trees of the present sample, suggesting that the rotation length is unlikely to have any practical influence
on the density of rauli. Considerable between-tree differences in density were found which did not
correspond to differences in ring width, suggesting it should be feasible to select independently for
density and growth rate. These differences in density were associated with differences in both vessel
lumen size and vessel number mm−2
Descripción morfológica y viabilidad del polen de Nothofagus nervosa (Nothofagaceae)