Growth Stresses Assessment in Standing Eucalyptus Cultivated in Different Regions in Brazil

摘要

Growth stress may be longitudinally, radially and tangentially oriented in the tree stem. The most severe and variable stress is longitudinal. For this reason many studies have been directed to it. When this stress is released, during cutting of the tree or during log processing, defects as distortion and end splits can appear. In spite of its importance, up to a few years ago, growth stress had not been the object of many studies in Brazil. However, over the last six years, more research effort on this subject has been carried out. Thus, this work reports the variation of longitudinal growth stress and strain presented in Eucalypjtus trees cultivated in several regions in Brazil. The results indicate that there exists high variability in the assessed genetic material both inside and amongst regions, The longitudinal growth stress generally presents high genetic heritability, indicating that it is under strong genetic control. From this it can be suggested that it is possible to select individuals with lower stress levels, able to produce sawn lumber of better quality.