Modeling Wood Fibre Length in Black Spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) Based on Ecological Land Classification

Elisha Townshend,Jeffery Dech,Bharat Pokharel,Art Groot,Doug Pitt

doi:10.3390/f6103369

Elisha Townshend, Jeffery Dech + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f6103369

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Abstract

Effective planning to optimize the forest value chain requires accurate and detailed information about the resource; however, estimates of the distribution of fibre properties on the landscape are largely unavailable prior to harvest. Our objective was to fit a model of the tree-level average fibre length related to ecosite classification and other forest inventory variables depicted at the landscape scale. A series of black spruce increment cores were collected at breast height from trees in nine different ecosite groups within the boreal forest of northeastern Ontario, and processed using standard techniques for maceration and fibre length measurement. Regression tree analysis and random forests were used to fit hierarchical classification models and find the most important predictor variables for the response variable area-weighted mean stem-level fibre length. Ecosite group was the best predictor in the regression tree. Longer mean fibre-length was associated with more productive ecosites that supported faster growth. The explanatory power of the model of fitted data was good; however, random forests simulations indicated poor generalizability. These results suggest the potential to develop localized models linking wood fibre length in black spruce to landscape-level attributes, and improve the sustainability of forest management by identifying ideal locations to harvest wood that has desirable fibre characteristics.

Highlights

The Canadian forest industry generates approximately 53 billion dollars in revenue from manufactured forest goods annually, representing 1.25% of the national gross domestic product [1].Black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), because of its abundance and advantageous fibre characteristics, is the most important species for the pulp and paper industry in Canada [2]
Differences in several tree-level measurements were evident in the sample population based on the apparent differences in productivity between the ecosite groups (Table 1)
EG-4 had the highest basal area (BA) (48.82 m2/ha) and highest stems per hectare (2126)

Summary

Introduction

The Canadian forest industry generates approximately 53 billion dollars in revenue from manufactured forest goods annually, representing 1.25% of the national gross domestic product [1].Black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), because of its abundance and advantageous fibre characteristics, is the most important species for the pulp and paper industry in Canada [2]. Variation in wood fibre length influences the best use of wood resources, impacting paper grading quality and the reinforcement strength of paper products; for example, longer fibres (≥3 mm) are more valuable because they are used as a reinforcement pulp, adding strength and value to paper products [3]. Wood fibre length influences the mechanical and physical properties of fibre board products [4] and the tensile strength of wood-plastic composites [5]. Wood fibre properties such as fibre length are critical to the successful development of products in the forest sector, and information on the characteristics of wood before harvest would be of enormous benefit to forest harvesters, mills, forest product companies and government agencies responsible for forest management [6]. To maximize the value of wood resources by allocating them to their best use in wood products, it is important to have information on wood fibre characteristics before harvest [7]

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