Linking acoustic velocity of standing Douglas-fir trees to veneer stiffness: a tree-log-product study across thinning treatments

Abstract

To understand the effects of silvicultural treatments on tree and product modulus of elasticity (MOE), an intensive study along the stand-tree-product value chain was conducted. Acoustic tests were performed on 460 Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees from two sites in the US Pacific Northwest. Trees on a site in Washington were 51 years old, while those situated in Oregon were 45 years old. Both sites comprised five plots: Plot A was the control, while Plots B, C, D, and E were prescribed with differing thinning treatments. Acoustic readings were stratified, and a sample of six trees per plot randomly selected from the stratified samples. Trees were harvested, cross-cut, and peeled into veneer. Veneer was acoustically tested, and density and MOE calculated for each sheet. Veneer sheets were grouped by parent bolt and tree, and MOE of the butt veneer bolt and the parent tree determined from the mean. Plot means were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression models developed with mean tree MOE as the response variable and non-destructive tree measures as explanatory variables. Further models were developed to demonstrate the relationship between tree diameter and the number of veneer sheets peeled, and between MOE of the parent tree and butt bolt. MOE was negatively correlated with diameter and taper, and positively correlated with acoustic velocity, V. The relationship with V2, following the wave equation (MOE = ρV2) under the assumption of constant density, ρ, was no better than that with V. While the correlations suggest that thinning regimes that cause rapid diameter growth and increased taper may be susceptible to a reduction in overall stiffness, there was no evidence, as determined by ANOVA, to suggest that thinning reduces stiffness. On the contrary, mean MOE at plot E (light thinning) was 12.6 GPa and the control was 10.2 GPa, with the difference significant at the 10% level (p-value = 0.074). In general, trees with MOE exceeding the recommended tree breeding value of 11 GPa were of low taper and small diameter, suggesting that regimes with a lesser impact on taper and diameter, as demonstrated by Plot E, are worthy of further investigation.