Abstract
Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) dominates 13.4 million ha of US southeastern forests and contributes over $30 billion to the economy of the region. The species will also form an important component of the renewable energy portfolio as the United States seeks national and energy security as well as environmental sustainability. This study employed NIR-based chemometric models as a high throughput screening tool to estimate the chemical traits and bioenergy potential of 351 standing loblolly pine trees representing 14 elite genetic families planted on two forest sites. The genotype of loblolly pine families affected the chemical, proximate and energy traits studied. With a range of 36.7% to 42.0%, the largest genetic variation (p-value < 0.0001) was detected in the cellulose content. Furthermore, although family by site interactions were significant for all traits, cellulose was the most stable across the two sites. Considering that cellulose content has strong correlations with other properties, selecting and breeding for cellulose could generate some gains.
Highlights
Timber harvested in the southern United States accounts for 60% of the wood consumed nationally and 18% of global wood consumption [1]
The range of extractives content determined for pine samples in this study were low compared to some of those stated in the literature
Except for hemicelluloses, the loblolly pines families differed in chemical composition
Summary
Timber harvested in the southern United States accounts for 60% of the wood consumed nationally and 18% of global wood consumption [1]. The majority of this production is sourced from plantation-grown loblolly pine. This widely grown tree species dominates approximately 13.4 million ha of the southeastern forests and accounts for more than 50% of the standing pine volume in the region [2]. Wood is principally composed of carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H). These elements combine into the three structural components of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.
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