Douglas-fir wood quality studies part I: Effects of age and stimulated growth on wood density and anatomy

Douglas-fir trees about 21 years old and growing on a poor site were thinned and fertilized causing accelerated growth. The characteristics of the wood across the 30-year age span were studied for 7 trees from the treated plot. Four trees of nearly uniform ring growth were also studied for some characteristics. Radial and tangential tracheid diameters, tracheid length and percent latewood were correlated quite well with log of age, coefficients ranged from 0.76 to 0.88 on pooled data. All tracheid dimensions when correlated with log of age gave high coefficients on a within-tree basis. The strongest relationship in all age-related factors was between 0 and 12 to 14 years. Specific gravity increased with age in all trees to about 16 to 18 years, then leveled off.Fertilization and thinning caused immediate production of lower density wood with somewhat lower percent latewood, a slight decrease in tracheid diameter tangentially but slightly greater radially, and a small decrease in tracheid length. The effects were mainly in the first 3 to 4 years after treatment, then there was recovery to normal wood density and cell dimensions. Wood from the trees of uniform growth showed no significant change over the same time period in percent latewood, specific gravity, and tracheid length.The research was financed by funds from State of Washington Initiative 171, Institute of Forest Products and the College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle.