Abstract
The objective of this study was to specify, parameterize, and evaluate an acoustic-based inferential framework for estimating commercially-relevant wood attributes within standing jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb) trees. The analytical framework consisted of a suite of models for predicting the dynamic modulus of elasticity (me), microfibril angle (ma), oven-dried wood density (wd), tracheid wall thickness (wt), radial and tangential tracheid diameters (dr and dt, respectively), fibre coarseness (co), and specific surface area (sa), from dilatational stress wave velocity (vd). Data acquisition consisted of (1) in-forest collection of acoustic velocity measurements on 61 sample trees situated within 10 variable-sized plots that were established in four mature jack pine stands situated in boreal Canada followed by the removal of breast-height cross-sectional disk samples, and (2) given (1), in-laboratory extraction of radial-based transverse xylem samples from the 61 disks and subsequent attribute determination via Silviscan-3. Statistically, attribute-specific acoustic prediction models were specified, parameterized, and, subsequently, evaluated on their goodness-of-fit, lack-of-fit, and predictive ability. The results indicated that significant (p ≤ 0.05) and unbiased relationships could be established for all attributes but dt. The models explained 71%, 66%, 61%, 42%, 30%, 19%, and 13% of the variation in me, wt, sa, co, wd, ma, and dr, respectively. Simulated model performance when deploying an acoustic-based wood density estimate indicated that the expected magnitude of the error arising from predicting dt, co, sa, wt, me, and ma prediction would be in the order of ±8%, ±12%, ±12%, ±13%, ±20%, and ±39% of their true values, respectively. Assessment of the utility of predicting the prerequisite wd estimate using micro-drill resistance measures revealed that the amplitude-based wd estimate was inconsequentially more precise than that obtained from vd (≈ <2%). A discourse regarding the potential utility and limitations of the acoustic-based computational suite for forecasting jack pine end-product potential was also articulated.
Highlights
Global competition and societal change are eliciting incremental changes within the Canadian forest sector
The quality and associated economic value of manufactured wood-based end-products, such as dimensional lumber, engineered wood composites, and utility poles, are largely dependent on the characteristics of the internal fibre attributes within the merchantable portion of the harvested tree stem
The degree of bending stiffness as quantified by the static modulus of elasticity is one of the more important attributes associated with solid wood products, as reflected by its use in machine grading systems for classifying dimensional lumber products
Summary
Global competition and societal change are eliciting incremental changes within the Canadian forest sector (sensu [1]). Forest management objectives and associated inputs are increasingly focused on enhancing end-product quality and value [2] and providing a wider array of ecosystem services (e.g., provisionary, regulatory, and cultural services [3]) while maintaining or increasing volumetric fibre yields. Realizing this aspirational trivariate goal will be partially dependent on the provision of enhanced operational intelligence and associated decision-making capacities in relation to the management and optimization of end-product flows within the upstream portion of the forest products supply chain. Forecasting end-product potential based on correlative relationships between external morphological tree characteristics and internal fibre attributes have yielded mixed results of generally limited utility [5]
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