Species features of changes in the basic density of wood and bark along the stem of a tree

In studies of biological productivity and carbon deposition capacity of forests, the qualimetric characteristics of biomass, in particular, moisture and basic density (BD) of wood and bark of stems, are important. BD, as the ratio of the mass of dry matter of stems to their volume in a fresh state, is one of the most important qualimetric characteristics of wood raw materials. It makes a significant contribution to explaining the variability of stem and aboveground biomass. It is known that BD is species-specific, but data on the distribution of BD of wood, and especially of bark, along the stem are quite rare. The purpose of our study was to analyze the specific features of changes in the basic density of wood and bark along the stem of the tree. According to the data of 3849 disks taken from the relative heights of stems for six forest-forming species along the Ural meridian, regression models of a mixed type were calculated, including as independent variables the age of the tree and the diameter of the stem, as well as the position of the  disk along the stem. The species identity of the BD is taken into account by entering dummy variables into the model. It was found that the BF of wood in all species decreases monotonously in the direction from the base of the stem to the top, and the BD of the bark increases monotonously in the same direction. The largest BD of wood is inherent in larch and birch and the smallest one in fir. Siberian cedar has the highest bark density and Scots pine has the smallest one. 

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