Effects of physical and chemical soil properties on physical wood characteristics of tectona grandis plantations in Costa Rica

R. Moya, D. Perez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

A total of 23 plantations with ages between 7 and 15 years were selected in the north and north-west regions of Costa Rica, covering a wide range of soil fertilities. Texture analysis included the determination of clay, silt and sand content, apparent density, water retention percentage, water useful percentage, and retention at 15 and 0.33% bars. Normal tangential shrinkage and normal radial shrinkage were the most correlated variables with soil characteristics, while the less correlated variables were specific gravity and normal volumetric shrinkage. Correlation coefficients were highly significant (α = 0.05) but low (< 0.64), probably influenced by the range of climatic and soil conditions. Soil characteristics (physical and chemical) had no influence on wood properties. A large range of soils in Costa Rica is suitable for growing teak without detrimental effect on certain wood properties.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)248-257
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Tropical Forest Science
Volume20
Issue number4
StatePublished - Oct 2008

Keywords

  • Bark
  • Heartwood
  • Pith
  • Shrinkage
  • Specific gravity
  • Wood quality

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