Wood density and annual growth variability of Picea abies (L.) Karst. growing in the Ukrainian Carpathians

摘要

The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge of the variability of wood density and annual growth of Norway spruce growing in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The material consisted of 21 trees which were cut between 600 m and 1200 m asl from south-west and north-east expositions of the mountain Dovshka. The ovendry and relative wood density increased from the bottom (630 m asl) to the top (1190 m asl) of the mountain and was related to increasing number of tree rings in 1 cm, whereas the width of annual rings decreased expressively. Three significant categories of altitude (forest types) of Norway spruce timbers were estimated for the mountain forest stands. The highest average ovendry wood density (413 kg m(-3)) and number of tree rings in 1 cm (17.1) were characterized by spruce trees growing at the wet rocky bilberry spruce forest (above 1000 m asl). Wood density and annual growth are two variables which were significantly correlated with each other and the altitude (R = 0.5-0.6).