Relationship of tracheid length, annual ring width, and wood density in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees from different social classes of tree position in the stand

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between the length of the tracheids, the width of annual rings, and the wood density of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) obtained from the dominant, intermediate, and suppressed classes of a 60-year-old stand. Measurement of tracheid length was performed on the material macerated from the following annual rings: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and thence every 5 annual rings. Basic density was determined on samples that included five annual rings from the core to bark. Tree position in the stand had a significant impact on the examined properties of wood. In a given biosocial class, tracheid length decreased as the width of annual rings increased. As the biosocial position of a tree in the stand improved, the length of the tracheids increased, and wood density decreased. In wood of the same density range, the increment in tracheid length was the greatest in wood of dominant trees and the lowest in wood of suppressed trees.