Effect of thinning treatment on growth and wood density of Pinus taeda planted in Misiones, Argentina

Abstract

The greatest increase in growth of the plantation may change the physical properties of wood, and therefore may decrease the wood quality for industry. The current paper aimed to evaluate the effect of thinning treatments on growth and wood density of Pinus taeda planted in Misiones, Argentina (25o 59’ S 54o24’ W). The plantation was established in 1985 with 1644 plants per hectare and three thinning intensity treatments were used (0%, 33% and 66% of the remaining basal area), under design randomized complete blocks (3 1 Ingeniero Forestal, Msc., Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Av. El Libertador 2472, 3384, Montecarlo, Misiones, Argentina. ramartiarena@montecarlo.inta.gov.ar 2 Ingeniero Forestal, Msc., Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Av. El Libertador 2472, 3384, Montecarlo, Misiones, Argentina. ecrechi@montecarlo.inta.gov.ar 3 Ingeniero Forestal, Msc.,Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Av. El Libertador 2472, 3384, Montecarlo, Misiones, Argentina. mpinazo@montecarlo.inta.gov.ar 4 Ingeniero Forestal, Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Av. El Libertador 2472, 3384, Montecarlo, Misiones, Argentina. avonwallis@montecarlo.inta.gov.ar 5 Ingeniero Forestal, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, CC 31 (1900), La Plata, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. jmarqui@agro.unlp.edu.ar 6 Licenciada en Biologia, Dra., Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC 31 (1900), La Plata, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y tecnicas (CONICET). smonteoliva@yahoo.com.ar Recebido para publicacaoem 31/01/2012 e aceito em17/04/2013