Variation of microfibril angle and its correlation to wood properties in poplars

Abstract

The microfibril angle of seven poplar clones was determined by using X-ray diffraction technique. Microfibril angle, wood basic density, fiber length, fiber width and cellulose content were assessed for every growth ring at breast height for all sample trees. Significant variation in microfibril angle was observed among growth rings. Mean microfibril angle (MFA) at breast height varied from 7.8° to 28° between growth rings with cambial age and showed a consistent pith-to-bark trend of decline angles. Analysis of variance also indicated that there were significant differences in wood basic density, fiber length, fiber width and cellulose content between the growth rings, which had an increasing tendency from pith to bark. Correlations between MFA and examined wood properties were predominantly large and significant negative (α=0.01), and the coefficients were −0.660 for cellulose content, −0.586 for fiber length, −0.516 for fiber width and −0.450 for wood basic density, respectively. Regression analysis with linear and curve estimation indicated that a quadratic function showed the largestR 2 and the least standard error for describing the relationships between microfibril angle and measured wood properties, and the correlation coefficients were over −0.45 (n=125). The results from this study suggested that microfibril angle would be a good characteristic for improvement in the future breeding program of poplars.