Variances of tracheid lengths in tropical pines from central Africa

Summary Individual tracheid lengths were measured in macerated tissue samples of Pinus merkussii Jungh. and de Vries, P. kesiya Royle ex Gordon (syn. P. khasya Royle) and P. patula Schiede and Deppe. The sample trees were selected from stands of different ages, treatments and sites in central Africa.A sampling unit of 50 tracheids, measured for convenience on two microscope slides, was chosen on the basis of an earlier study. The variation in individual tracheid length and the variation of within-slide variance was studied by means of analysis of variance and variance components. This indicated the nunber of samples required in the different sampling categories to give maximum sampling efficiency. Sampling categories included both random factors (individual tracheids, number of slides, radii in discs) and fixed factors (annual rings, tree classes, thinning treatments, etc.).While large effects were attributable to fixed factors more than half the total variation was explained by random factors. The effect of the number of slides was rarely important and two slides need be used only to facilitate the location of the required number of tracheids and to provide a check on operator consistency. The sample unit of 50 tracheids can detect differences in tracheid length of 0.20 ... 0.34 mm thus confirming the routine used in this laboratory as a practical and meaningful procedure.Laboratory work was carried out in Kitwe, computing at Oxford. Paper published with permission of Professor of Forest Science, Oxford and Director, Agricultural Research Council of Zambia.