| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89223 | Forest Ecology and Management | 2008 | 5 Pages |
The influence of initial stocking and clone on corewood modulus of elasticity (MOE) in Pinus radiata D. Don were investigated at two spatially separated experiments in Canterbury, New Zealand. Green dynamic corewood MOE was determined on standing trees using the stress-wave method over the lower stem (0.2–2.0 m) of 85 trees from the two experiments which included the same three clones grown at 833 and 2500 stems ha−1.Initial stocking had a highly significant (P < 0.001) influence on MOE with values in the highly stocked plots exceeding values in the low stocking plots by 37% (1.8 GPa) at site 1 and 31% (1.5 GPa) at site 2. Gains in MOE attributable to clone were highly significant (P < 0.001) and averaged 0.9 GPa or 18%, across sites. There was a highly significant (P < 0.001) interaction between clone and site, which was due to rank changes in MOE for the two stiffest clones between sites. Although significant (P < 0.05), the interaction between clone and stand stocking was relatively weak, compared to other effects. Tree slenderness (height/diameter at breast height) exhibited a highly significant (P < 0.001) relationship with MOE and was more strongly correlated with MOE than was tree diameter at breast height. Including slenderness as a covariate accounted for the significant stocking effects on MOE. The consistency of findings between these two spatially separated sites highlights the importance of initial stocking as a means of regulating MOE. The significant interaction between clone and site suggests that models of wood properties for different clone may have to account for interactions with site influences.
