Effect of spacing on wood density of Pinus patula and Cupressus lusitanica

Working paper

Samples of Pinus patula and Cupressus lusitanica grown with three different spacings at Rongai in Northern Tanzania were examined to determine their wood density. Spacing effected the height and diameter of P. patula, but only the diameter of C. lusitanica. Both species yielded wood with a density around 400 kg m^-3 (oven dry weight/green volume) and spacing had no appreciable influence. The wood of P. patula included a much wider range of density than that of C. lusitanica.

The original project document laid down five objectives of which the first dealt with wood density and its variations between and within the two species studied and the other four dealt with the pulping and paper making properties of the species. The X-ray densitometry carried out by OFI has dealt only with objective 1, whereas the pulping work is being done at the University of North Wales, Bangor.

Objective 1 has been achieved in that the variation of wood density has been studied in detail and the results analysed to give the conclusions on page 4 of this report. These findings will be very useful in comparing density with pulping properties, particularly pulp strengths, when the work at Bangor has been completed.

Authors: Palmer, E; Plumptre, R; Malimbwi, R; Gourlay, I; Quilter, T

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Oxford Forestry Institute, University of Oxford
• Series: O.F.I. Occasional papers
• Publication date: 1995-01-01
• ISSN: 0269-5790
• Paper number: 48
• ISBN: 0850741335
• Language: English
• Keywords: OFI; Oxford Forestry Institute
• Subjects: Plant sciences; Forests and forestry