Specific Gravity of Hybrid Poplars in the North-Central Region, USA: Within-Tree Variability and Site × Genotype Effects
Date
Authors
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Abstract
Specific gravity is an important consideration for traditional uses of hybrid poplars for pulp and solid wood products, as well as for biofuels and bioenergy production. While specific gravity has been shown to be under strong genetic control and subject to within-tree variability, the role of genotype × environment interactions is poorly understood. Most specific gravity reports are for a limited number of locations, resulting in a lack of information about the interactions between clones and sites over a wide range of climate and soil conditions. The objective of the current study was to characterize the effects of bole position, site, clone, and site × clone interactions for twelve hybrid poplar genotypes grown in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, USA. Observed specific gravities ranged from 0.267 to 0.495 (mean = 0.352 ± 0.001 for 612 samples taken from 204 trees), with bole position and site × clone interactions having significant effects on specific gravity. Further investigation of the site × clone interactions indicated that environmental conditions related to water stress were key predictors of specific gravity. These data are important for informing genotypic selection and silvicultural management decisions associated with growing hybrid poplars.
Comments
This article is published as Headlee, W.L., R. Zalesny, R. Hall, E. Bauer, B. Bender, B. Birr, R. Miller, J. A. Randall, and A. Wiese. 2013. Specific gravity of hybrid poplars in the north-central region, USA: within-tree variability and site X Genotype effects. Forests 4(2), 251-269. doi: 10.3390/f4020251. Posted with permission.