Effect of environment on wood density and pulp quality of five pine species grown in Southern Africa: results of a research project carried out for the Usutu Pulp Company Ltd, Swaziland

Working paper

The Usutu Pulp Company's forests cover 75,000 ha (58,000 ha planted) with an annual production of approximately 1 million tonnes of pulpwood (Evans, 1996) (Figures 45 and 46). The main species are Pinus patula Schiede ex Schlecht. & Cham. (felled at an average age of 15 to 17 years) and P. elliottii Engelm. (felled at 16 to 22 years). The forests supply 3000 brown wet tons of pulpwood per day to an unbleached kraft pulp mill (see cover and Figure 48) which sells its product mainly into the sack and linerboard markets. Variation in wood quality is a problem for the mill because it adversely affects pulp quality. Wood quality variation could be better managed by the mill and even exploited if the underlying causes of the variation were understood. The objectives of this work were therefore to examine the effects of major genetic, physiological and environmental factors such as species, growth rate, age and elevation on wood and kraft pulp properties...

Authors: Clarke, C; Morris, A; Palmer, E; Barnes, R; Baylis, W

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Oxford Forestry Institute, University of Oxford
• Series: Tropical forestry papers
• Publication date: 2003-01-01
• ISSN: 0141-9668
• Paper number: 43
• ISBN: 0850741602
• Language: English
• Keywords: Oxford Forestry Institute; OFI
• Subjects: Plant sciences; Forests and forestry