Physical and mechanical wood properties of ring-shaken chestnut (Castanea sativa) trees

Abstract

Ring shake is a defect that strongly affects chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) use and its occurrence is known to be mainly related to mechanical stress within a tree; however, few investigations have compared the physico-mechanical properties of healthy and shaken trees. Hence, the aim of this study is to compare the density, compression strength, bending strength (MOR), and shrinkages between healthy and shaken trees in coppice stands. The investigation was carried out in the Lazio Region in central Italy in trees with a cambial age between 6 and 25 years. The results showed that shaken trees had lower mechanical strength and shrinkages than healthy ones and that the physico-mechanical parameters might be used to predict ring shake occurrence in a specific geographic area. Geographical location strongly affected the physico-mechanical properties of the chestnut wood, and this factor influenced ring shake occurrence. MOR value was assumed to be the parameter that could be applied at almost all study sites to distinguish between shaken and healthy trees. There was no difference between the shaken and healthy portions of a disk inside the same tree.