Relationship between <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs concentration and potassium content in stem wood of Japanese cedar (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>)

To utilize forest resources in areas affected by fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, it is important to understand the mechanisms of ¹³⁷Cs movement through the stem wood of contaminated trees. Understanding the mechanism of absorption and migration of ¹³⁷Cs to stem wood is necessary for clues to the future prediction of the transition of ¹³⁷Cs to xylem. In the present study, radial variations in ¹³⁷Cs concentration were investigated in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) trees collected 1 year and 10 months after the accident. Additionally, the relationship between ¹³⁷Cs concentration and potassium (K) content was established. Trees with a higher moisture content and lower lightness value in heartwood tended to have a higher ¹³⁷Cs concentration in the heartwood. In these trees, ¹³⁷Cs concentration peaked at the heartwood–sapwood boundary and gradually decreased toward the pith. By contrast, K content within the heartwood remained nearly constant along the radial direction. The heartwood-to-sapwood ratio of ¹³⁷Cs concentration was significantly positively correlated with that of K content. Based on these results, we suggest that ¹³⁷Cs movement from sapwood to heartwood might be related to the K content ratio of heartwood and sapwood.     

Decontamination of Cs from Japanese cedar (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) via kraft cooking

To investigate the possibility of decontaminating ¹³⁷Cs-contaminated Cryptomeria japonica wood, kraft pulping was conducted and the Cs behavior in the reaction process was examined. ¹³³Cs-treated or ¹³⁷Cs-contaminated bark, sapwood, and heartwood chips of Cryptomeria japonica were digested using an aqueous solution of NaOH and Na₂S. The pulp was washed with ultrapure water and filtered, after which the filtrate (black liquor) was collected. The black liquor was acidified to separate the supernatant and precipitation. The Cs (¹³³Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) concentrations in the chip and reaction products were measured. As for wood samples, the majority of Cs was present in black liquor, while only a minor amount of Cs was retained in the pulp (<1%). In the case of bark, although the majority of Cs was present in the black liquor, the proportion of Cs in the pulp was much higher than that in the wood pulp. In addition, the Cs in the precipitation of the bark was higher than that in the wood, possibly because the Cs in the bark was combined with some components, which is insoluble in alkaline solution. Our results suggest that ¹³⁷Cs-contaminated Cryptomeria japonica wood can be used in the pulp and paper industries.     

Heartwood, sapwood and bark content of teak trees grown in Karnataka, India

We evaluated heartwood, sapwood and bark content in teak trees. A total of 27 sample plots were laid out in teak plantations raised by State Forest Department in Karnataka covering different age groups...     

Antioxidant activity of extracts from the wood and bark of Port Orford cedar

Heartwood, sapwood, and inner and outer bark of Port Orford cedar were extracted with methanol, and the extracts evaluated for antioxidant activity. The total phenol content (TPC) of the extracts was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as gallic acid equivalent (GAE). Butylated hydroxytoluene was used as a positive control in the free-radical-scavenging activity tests and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dihydrate disodium salt served as a positive control in the metal-chelating activity assay. All wood extracts showed significant freeradical-scavenging activity. In the radical-scavenging assay of 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (the ABTS assay), the inner bark extracts exhibited the strongest free-radical-scavenging activity. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) in the radical-scavenging assay against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate radical (DPPH) of the heartwood, sapwood, and inner and outer bark extracts were 64.77, 29.03, 10.31, 19.87 μg·ml⁻¹, respectively. In the metal-chelating activity system, the sapwood extract demonstrated significant activity. The greatest TPC, 537.5 mg GAE/g dry extract, was detected in the inner bark. The lowest TPC of 136.9 mg GAE/g dry extract was observed in the heartwood dry extract. The results indicate that the antioxidant activities of the extracts are in accordance with the amounts of phenolics present; the inner and outer barks of Port Orford cedar are rich in phenolics and may provide good sources of antioxidants.     

柚木种源生长和与材质有关特性的遗传变异及综合评价

对海南岛乐东尖峰岭27年生柚木6个种源的生长及与材质有关特性进行测定与分析,结果表明:种源间树皮厚度、心材宽度、基本密度差异极显著,树高、材积、枝下高、边材宽度差异显著,而胸径、边材年轮数及心材率差异不显著,说明在种源水平上对柚木进行生长和与材质有关特性的改良具有较大的潜力,尤其进行木材生长性状、基本密度和心材宽度的种...     

Development of heartwood,sapwood,bark,pith and specific gravity of teak(Tectona grandis) in fast-growing plantations in Costa Rica

To elucidate the development of heartwood,bark,sapwood,pith and specific gravity of wood in fastgrowing teak(Tectona grandis)plantations in Costa Rica,we sampled three trees in each of 55 plantations and modelled each variable with age,site and different tree heights.Age and stand density of plantations were significant correlated with stem diameter at breast height and total height of the tree.Formation of heartwood was initiated at the age of 4-year-old and increased in direct proportion with age.The age of plantation had a significant relationship with stem diameter at breast height,heartwood percentage,sapwood thickness,sapwood percentage,percentage of bark,pith diameter and percentage,and specify gravity.The model for these tree parameters was model with these parameters as dependent variable and in relation to age as independent variable.     

Application of activable tracers to investigate radial movement of minerals in the stem of Japanese cedar (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>)

Two activable tracers, Rb and Eu, were injected into the sapwood of Japanese cedars (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) to investigate the radial movement of minerals in their stems in the resting period. Eight trees of four cultivars, two of which genetically form wet heartwood, were treated near the end of the growing period. At 40 days after the treatment, Rb was detected in the outer heartwood, whereas Eu was not. Radial movement of Rb was more rapid in trees with wet heartwood than in those with normal heartwood. At 204 days after the treatment, more Rb was detected in the heartwood than was found on the first sampling, whereas no Eu was detected in the heartwood. The difference in radial movement between Rb and Eu was considered mainly to be the result of selective transport of beneficial minerals by Japanese cedar. The difference in the rate of radial movement of Rb between wet and normal heartwood became more conspicuous at 204 days after treatment. We concluded that the movement of Rb from the sapwood to the outer heartwood was by active transport through the rays, whereas that in the heartwood was by diffusion due to the gradient of Rb concentration.     

Increasing wood production through old age in tall trees

How long forest trees can sustain wood production with increasing age remains an open question, primarily because whole-crown structure and growth cannot be readily measured from the ground or on felled trees. We climbed and directly measured crown structures and growth rates of 43 un-suppressed individuals (site trees) of the two tallest species – Eucalyptus regnans and Sequoia sempervirens – representing a wide range of tree sizes and ages. In both species, ground-level measurements of annual growth, including height, ring width, and basal area increment, exhibited the oft-reported trend of decreasing growth (or no change in growth) with age, yet wood production of the entire main trunk and whole crown both increased with size and age up to and including the largest and oldest trees we measured. The balance between structural metrics of whole-crown respiratory demands (cambium area, inner bark volume, sapwood volume, and heartwood deposition area) and photosynthetic capacity (leaf area and green bark area) was statistically independent of size but not age. After accounting for the effect of size, trees with lower potential respiratory demands grew more than trees with higher potential respiratory demands per unit photosynthetic area. The strongest determinant of tree energy balance was the ratio of aboveground cambium area to leaf area. Among the site trees we examined, over 85% of the variation in annual wood production was explained by variation in size, and the proportion of total aboveground wood production in appendages (branches, limbs, and reiterated trunks) increased linearly with size. With increasing age in both species, the proportion of annual wood production converted to heartwood increased in main trunks and appendages. The oldest tree we measured produced more heartwood in its main trunk over 651 years (351 m³) than contained in any tree we measured <1500 years old. The two tallest tree species achieve similar stature despite divergent growth dynamics and ecologies. At one extreme, E. regnans attains great size quickly but dies relatively young because trees are susceptible to fire and fungi. At the other extreme, S. sempervirens attains great size more slowly but has a long lifespan because trees resist fire and prioritize investment in decay-resistant heartwood. Increasing wood production as trees age is a mechanism underlying the maintenance of biomass accumulation during forest development and the carbon-sink capacity of old-growth forests.     

Radial distribution of thujaplicins in old growth and second growth western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn)

Summary Radial distribution of thujaplicins in western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn) trees of varying ages was studied in order to assess relative decay resistance of their wood. Samples were extracted with ethanol: benzene (1: 2), and the extractives were analyzed for thujaplicin codtent by a new method utilizing capillary gas chromatography of their methylated derivatives. The combined concentration of thujic acid and methyl thujate was also determined for each sample. Distribution of extractives, thujaplicins and thujic acid, generally increased from pith to outside heartwood, then decreased in the sapwood. Maximum extractive and thujaplicin contents were also related to tree age. This suggests that products made from the wood of younger trees will be less resistant to decay than similar products made from the wood of old trees.     

Profile of bordered pit aspiration in Cryptomeria japonica using confocal laser scanning microscopy: pit aspiration and heartwood color

Nine trees of Cryptomeria japonica from six elite tree clones with a broad range of heartwood colors were selected. The profiles of pit aspiration percentage (ASP) of earlywood and latewood from pith to bark for green and air-dry conditions were determined to study the relationship between heartwood color and pit aspiration. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) observations showed that the ASP of earlywood was low in sapwood and high in heartwood in the green condition. Pit aspiration increased in intermediate wood when compared with sapwood. On the other hand, latewood pits did not aspirate during heartwood formation. Comparing the air-dry condition with the green condition, sapwood pits aspirated during drying in both earlywood and latewood; however, there was no significant difference in pit aspiration of heartwood. There was no significant difference between samples with red and black heartwoods for ASP. The difference in ASP between individual trees was larger than that by heartwood color. The general advantage of CLSM over light microscopy is that serial optical sections along the Z axis can be obtained for any moisture condition, without the need for thin sectioning or embedding.     

Influence of stem rot pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fomitiporia</Emphasis> sp. on “Sanbu-sugi” cultivar of the Japanese cedar <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>

An unidentified Fomitiporia sp. causes severe white-rot on stems of a cultivar “Sanbu-sugi” of the Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica. The influence of the fungus on tree health and wood properties was determined. Bark from dead branches and xylem from living branches contained more glucose than bark from living branches and xylem from dead branches. Tree heights at which annual rings were disconnected were 2, 4 and 6 m at ages 37, 15 and 24 years old, respectively. The pH values of damaged parts were lower than those of non-damaged parts, and the damaged parts were clearly identified using bromocresol green solution. Weight loss of sapwood during 60 days of fungal degradation was 1.4 %, which was less than that by a saprophyte, Trametes versicolor. The amount of polyphenols in the heartwood from damaged tree stems was less than that from non-damaged stems. Degraded parts were less stiff than the non-degraded sapwood as measured with a wood-decay tester, Pilodyn. Our observations indicate that damaged stems are chemically and physically inferior to non-damaged stems.     

Heartwood and sapwood variation in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. trees at the end of rotation for pulp wood production

The amount of heartwood and sapwood in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. wood was determined in commercial pulpwood plantations at harvest age (12 to 15 years) in four ites in central portugal. twelve trees were sampled in each site at nine stem height levels. Heartwood was present in all the trees up to 82%–87% of the total tree height and amounted to 38%–41% of the total tree volume. The heartwood proportion in the stem cross-section decreased from the base upwards, representing 53.3% and 26.1% of the total area respectively at the base and 55% height level. The sapwood width remained relatively constant along the stem at a mean 38 mm up to the 55% height level. The trees within the site, the height level and their interaction were highly significant sources of variation for heartwood proportion and sapwood width. The heartwood diameter and sapwood width were positively correlated with radial tree growth.     

Acetaldehyde emission from wood induced by the addition of ethanol

A mechanism of acetaldehyde emission from wood induced by the addition of ethanol was proposed. It is known that acetaldehyde generation is due to the oxidation of ethanol via a metabolic process involving alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in living bodies. However, it remains unclear whether the enzymatic alcohol oxidation is applicable to wood. We investigated possible factors of wood parts, conditioning, storage sites, and heating and sterilization treatments on acetaldehyde emission using the syringe method and HPLC analysis. We reconfirmed that acetaldehyde emission was observed only when ethanol was added to wood. Greater acetaldehyde emissions were obtained in heartwood compared to sapwood in both Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) and Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) specimens. In addition, an acetaldehyde conversion rate of 1–2 mol% was determined in green cedar heartwood samples, while, conversely, air-dried cedar heartwood samples showed 4–5 mol%. Ethylene oxide gas sterilization had the effect of decreasing acetaldehyde emission on air-dried wood, but not on green wood. Autoclave sterilization could completely prevent acetaldehyde emissions from both green and air-dried wood. These results suggested that an original ADH in wood and an attached ADH from the outside via microorganisms onto wood were assumed to be the primary causes of acetaldehyde emissions from wood induced by the addition of ethanol.     

Fuelwood characteristics of tree species in homegardens of Kerala, India

Indiscriminate use of natural resources in the past has lead to fuelwood shortages in many parts of the tropical world. To surmount this domestic energy crisis, not only degraded sites must be planted with trees having high fuel value potential, but also agroforestry promoted on arable lands. To enable choice of species for such energy plantations/agroforests in the humid tropics of peninsular India, we assessed the heat of combustion and physical properties that determine combustion of phytofuels, such as ash content, specific gravity and moisture content. Bark and wood samples of 45 multipurpose tree species in the homegardens of Kerala, India and three fuel materials of local importance (coconut [Cocos nucifera] endocarp, dried coconut spathe and dehiscent rubber [Hevea braziliensis] pericarp) were evaluated. Variations abound in the calorific values and physical properties of species and tissue-types. In general, heat of combustion and specific gravity followed the sequence: heartwood > sapwood > bark, while mean ash percentage followed a reverse order (bark > sapwood > heartwood). Ash content had a negative correlation with heat of combustion, but specific gravity exerted a positive influence. Furthermore, ash content and wood specific gravity were inversely related. Although green moisture content increased in the order: bark < heartwood < sapwood, it failed to show any predictable relationship with heat of combustion.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

黑木相思株内木材基本材性变化与树龄关系的研究

对不同树龄和径向位置黑木相思木材的物理和主要力学性质测定研究表明:黑木相思株内边材、心材密度和主要力学性质随着树龄的增大而增大,径向和弦向的体积干缩率随着树龄的增大而减小;相同树龄黑木相思的边材密度和力学性能比心材小,干缩率比心材大.因此,在利用黑木相思时应对树龄、心边材径向位置加以特别考虑.     

Feeding responses of the western dry-wood termite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Incisitermes minor</Emphasis> (Hagen) (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) against ten commercial timbers

Five Japanese timbers, four timbers from the USA, and one Malaysian timber were evaluated for their resistance to the invasive dry-wood termite Incisitermes minor (Hagen) using laboratory choice and no-choice feeding tests with holed specimens. The highest survival rates of I. minor in both the heartwood and sapwood no-choice feeding tests were more than 70% after 3 months. When offered sapwood and heartwood choice feeding tests and the combined choice feeding tests, the highest survival rates of I. minor were more than 75% after 3 months. With regards to the percentage of wood mass losses in the no-choice and choice feeding tests, karamatsu (Larix leptolepsis), buna (Fagus crenata), and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) were classified as “resistant” species among the ten sapwood specimens. In the heartwood no-choice and choice feeding tests, the resistant species were buna, karamatsu, Douglas fir, sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), akamatsu (Pinus densiflora), and western red cedar (Thuja plicata). The ranking of the resistance of the ten commercial timbers against I. minor was buna > karamatsu > sugi > western red cedar > Douglas fir > rubber > western hemlock > hinoki > spruce.     

Improvement of penetrability of sugi wood by impregnation of bacteria using sap-flow method

The sap flow method of wood impregnation was conducted to aid the movement of bacteria through the living tree, thereby accelerating their distribution through wood within a short time. When log-pond water containing mixed species of bacteria were introduced in the living trees by butt-end dipping and then laid horizontally for 6 months, bacteria could be delivered by sap flow vertically through the sapwood tracheids up to the high portions from the butt-end of trees; they could be detected in the ray parenchymal cells. The sap-flow method was assumed to deliver the bacteria to sapwood and heartwood at high levels of standing sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) trees. Degradation of the pit membranes was observed even at more than 3 m upward from the butt-end after the treatment in sapwood, as well as around the butt-end of the trees. The uptake of the aqueous dye solutions in sapwood of the treated logs were about eight times more than those of control specimens after 8h.Part of this report was presented at the 40^th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tsukuba, April 1990; the 41^st annual meeting of Japan Wood Research Society, Matsue, April 1991; and the IUFRO 4^th international conference on wood drying, Rotorua, New Zealand, August 1994     

Wood properties of teak (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tectona grandis</Emphasis>) from a mature unmanaged stand in East Timor

The wood quality from 50- to 70-year-old Tectona grandis trees from an unmanaged forest in East Timor was assessed. The aim was to evaluate teak in mature stands that had undergone uncontrolled disturbances, e.g., fire and local community usage. Heartwood represented 91% of the tree radius at a height of 1.7 m, and sapwood contained on average nine rings. The mean ring width showed within-tree and between-tree variability. The chemical compositions of heartwood and sapwood were similar. Within-tree chemical variation occurred only in terms of extractives, which increased from the pith (8.3%) to the heartwood-sapwood transition (12.7%) and decreased in the sapwood (9.2%). Overall, the wood properties of teak from a unmanaged forest in East Timor were comparable to those reported for plantation teaks of other origin: 607 kg/m³ basic density, 3.5% and 5.2% radial and tangential shrinkage, 141 N/mm² modulus of rupture, 10684 N/mm² modulus of elasticity, and 50 N/mm² maximum crushing strength in compression parallel to the grain. Disturbances on individual tree growth arising from the unmanaged status of the stand were evidenced by higher within-tree variability of ring width. However, the longitudinal and radial variations of wood density and mechanical properties were of low magnitude and in a degree that did not negatively impact on timber quality.     

Radial movement of sapwood-injected rubidium into heartwood of Japanese cedar (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">japonica</Emphasis>) in the growing period

Rubidium solution was injected in the sapwood of a Japanese cedar cultivar in the growing period, and its radial movement in stem was traced to investigate the accumulation of alkali metals in the heartwood. Sapwood-injected Rb was detected in outer heartwood at 10 days after the treatment, and continued increasing at 20 days after. Radial movement of Rb toward heartwood was considered to occur soon after the treatment, and to decline at a certain point of the time after Rb injection ceased. However, Rb continued moving in heartwood probably by diffusion even after the cease of Rb injection. In a series of injection experiment, radial movement of injected Rb is not corresponding to the seasonality of both cambial activity and cytological changes of ray parenchyma accompanied with heartwood formation. From the results on Rb’s behavior, we conclude that accumulation of K and other alkali metals in heartwood of Japanese cedar has two steps, active transport from sapwood to outer heartwood via ray, and diffusion in heartwood, and that these processes proceed independently from both cambial activity and cytological changes of ray parenchyma.     

Lipophilic extractives in different tree fractions and forestry assortments of Pinus sylvestris due for thinning or final cutting

The objectives were to determine the content and composition of lipophilic extractives, particularly fatty and resin acids, in three Scots pine trees from each of two stands in northern Sweden, one that was due for thinning and one due for final cutting. Extractives content of branches, needles, barks, stem discs from branch whorls, and sapwood and heartwood samples from various heights was measured. Fractions had very different concentrations and distributions of extractives due to differences in the composition of tissues. The needles had the highest total extractive concentration (around 150?kg/ton d.w.), followed by the branches, bark, timber from the final cut stand, and then the pulpwood and timber from the thinning stand. The final cut stand generally provided higher yields of extractives in assortments per hectare than the thinning stand; the difference was five-fold for timber, three-fold for whole trees, two-fold for branches, needles and bark and similar for pulpwood. This information on the content and composition of extractives in different tissues, and the dependence of these quantities on tree age could be used together with information on conventional stand data such as tree numbers and dimensions to guide the selection and management of feedstocks for biorefineries.