Articles containing the keyword 'heartwood'.

The paper aimed at testing the potential of refining tree rot diagnostics carried out by means of electrical impedance tomography (EIT). Examined was the use of EIT datasets with electrical resistance values and sapwood proportion determined on the basis of tomograms. Making use of datasets with resistance values in EIT rot diagnostics is not a default method, although datasets stay unaffected by a fixed colour scale and subsequent subjective evaluation unlike tomograms. Tomography measurement was carried out for 27 individuals of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) in two stands north-east of Brno, Czech Republic. Once felled down, radial cut-outs were sampled at the measurement site and used for localising rot and determining the extent of the area of decay. The results were subsequently compared with tomograms. EIT datasets containing values of electrical resistance found by measuring were statistically processed and compared with the extent of rot area identified within the cuts. Sapwood proportion values were also detected using the tomograms. The baseline assumption that sapwood proportion decreases as the rot area in the radial cut expands was confirmed. In trees with rot percentage to 35% approximately, sapwood proportion was exceeding 30% except one tree. In trees with rot percentage exceeding 35%, sapwood proportion was below 30%. On the basis of interpreted datasets, the trees can be split into three characteristic groups that correspond to the occurrence, extent and nature of the rot.

• Humplík, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Zemědělská 1665/3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic ORCID ID: – E-mail: premysl.humplik@mendelu.cz
• Čermák, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Zemědělská 1665/3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic ORCID ID: – E-mail: petr.cermak@mendelu.cz
• Žid, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Zemědělská 1665/3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic ORCID ID: – E-mail: tomas.zid@mendelu.cz

• Víquez, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Apartado 7170 CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica ORCID ID: – E-mail: eviquez@catie.ac.cr
• Pérez, Ambiente Tierra S.A., Apartado 733-2250, Tres Ríos, Cartago, Costa Rica ORCID ID: – E-mail: –

• Pérez, Ambiente Tierra S.A., Apartado 733-2250, Tres Ríos, Cartago, Costa Rica ORCID ID: – E-mail: diegoperez@costarricense.cr
• Kanninen, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia ORCID ID: – E-mail: –

• Knoke, Institute of Silviculture and Forest Management, Technische Universität München, Am Hochanger 13, D-85354 Freising, Germany ORCID ID: – E-mail: knoke@wbfe.forst.tu-muenchen.de

• Björklund, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Management and Products, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden ORCID ID: – E-mail: lars.bjorklund@sh.slu.se

In laboratory studies the heartwood content seems to be the only natural property of a wood of different tree species influencing the decay resistance. Moistening and drying by diffusion happen quite slowly. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood takes moisture by capillary action quicker than pine heartwood and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) wood. Swelling and shrinkage are also greatest in pine sapwood. Impregnation of pine sapwood can give it better hydrophobic and dimensional stability than that of pine heartwood.

The PDF includes an abstract in English.

• Kärenlampi, ORCID ID: – E-mail: –

The natural resistance of Finnish-grown Pinus sylvestris L. heartwood to Macrotermitinae termites was tested in Zambia in graveyard conditions. The heartwood exhibited some natural resistance but durability was, however, far from practical immunity. There was significant tree-to-tree variation in the resistance of heartwood of P. Sylvestris.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Löyttyniemi, ORCID ID: – E-mail: –
• Uusvaara, ORCID ID: – E-mail: –

The study deals with the variation in the proportion of heartwood  in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) both within and between stems as examined on the basis of literature. Special attention is paid to an application, in which on the basis of the diameter of pulpwood bolts, efforts are made to predict the proportion of heartwood in the total volume of bolts. It is shown that the method, even when based on homogenous material of 564 Norway spruce and Scots pine bolts, easily leads to wrong conclusions concerning the proportion of heartwood.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Kärkkäinen, ORCID ID: – E-mail: –

A theoretical framework to analyse the growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is presented. Material exchange processes and internal processes that transport, transform and consume materials are identified as the components of growth. Hierarchical system is lined out. Momentary uptake of material at a single exchange site depends on the environmental condition next to the exchange site, the internal state of the biochemical system of the plant and the structure of the plant. The internal state depends on the exchange flows over period of time and the structural growth depends on the internal state. The response of these processes to the fluxes is controlled by the genetic composition of the plant.

The theoretical framework is formulated into a mathematical model. A concept of balanced internal state was applied to describe the poorly known internal processes. Internal substrate concentrations were assumed to remain constant but tissue-specific. A linear relationship between the quantity of foliage and wood cross-sectional area was assumed to describe balanced formation of structure. The exchange processes were thus described as a function of external conditions. The stand level interactions were derived from shading and effects of root density on nutrient uptake.

The approach was tested at different levels of hierarchy. Field measurements indicated that the hypothesis of the linear relationship described well the regularities between foliage and sapwood of a tree within a stand when measured at functionally corresponding height. There was considerable variation in the observed regularities in the range of geographic occurrence of Scots pine. Model simulations gave a realistic description of stand development in Southern Finland. The same model was also able to describe growth differences in Lapland after considering the effect of growing season length in the parameter values. Simulations to South Russia indicate stronger deviation from the observed patterns.

The simulations suggest interesting features of stand development. They indicate strong variability in the distribution of carbohydrates between tree parts during stand development. Internal circulation of nutrients and the reuse of the same transport structure by various needle generations had a strong influence on the simulation results.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Nikinmaa, ORCID ID: – E-mail: –