Initial Spacing and Physical Properties of Wood

Basic wood density and initial moisture content are the two important wood properties for solid timber applications, especially for structural timber is strongly related to wood density. Density of Junipures excelsa is highly variable and poorly understood. In this study the effect of initial spacing on saw log quality and physical properties of Juniperus excelsa grown at Wondo Genet were investigated. A total of 27 trees from three replicates (three per treatment on each replicate) were felled and discs were cut for this study. A replicates of green samples discs having a dimension of about 3cm thick were taken from the butt, middle and top portion of the tree, to investigate moisture and density variation along the tree height. A total of 270 specimens (i.e. 90 specimens from each spacing, 5 from one portion of sapwood and heartwood) having a dimension of about [2 x 2 cm (cross section) and 3 cm long] were prepared from three trees for shrinkage analysis. A lumber having a dimension 2,000 x 100 x 25 mm were processed for knot number and size determination. The results indicated that these exists a significance difference in basic wood density, tapering, and average knot size.