Ring width, latewood proportion and dry density in stems of Pinus brutia Ten.

This study examined basic characteristics of stem wood produced in Pinus brutia Ten. reforestations in Northeastern Greece. Sixteen dominant trees growing at good and medium site qualities were felled at 14-22 years. Site quality classification was based on site quality surrogates and confirmed by using site index curves that were created for a neighbouring area. Discs were taken at three stem positions (base, middle, top) to study variations in ring width, latewood proportion and dry density. Generally, at both good and medium sites, ring width was found to increase towards the top of the stems while latewood proportion and dry density showed a negative relationship with stem height. Radial variability trends were similar at all heights, and at both sites, revealing a rapid increase for ring width in the first 3-6 annual rings followed by a decrease towards the bark, a gradual increase for latewood proportion and no specific change for dry density. Comparisons between wood material produced during the same growth period (2005-2001) showed statistically significant differences among sampling heights in all cases except for dry density in medium sites. At the base of the stems, mean ring width and dry density were significantly (P≤0.05) higher at good sites (3.6 mm and 0.53 g/cm 3) than at medium sites (3.0 mm and 0.50 g/cm 3). However, the differences between the sites are of small magnitude and therefore have limited practical impact on wood processing. The availability of such data is useful in utilising small-dimension timber of brutia pine. © 2009 Springer-Verlag