MEAN ANNUAL INCREMENT, WOOD DENSITY AND VESSEL DIAMETER OF 42-YEAR-OLD Balfourodendron riedellianum AND Peltophorum dubium IN A HETEROGENEOUS PLANTING

Abstract

The knowledge of wood from potentially producing species is desirable to propose the expansion of such product through plantations, thereby avoiding the illegal exploitation of wood in native forests. To this end, we evaluated mean annual increment, wood density and vessel diameter of Balfourodendron riedelianum and Peltophorum dubium in a heterogeneous planting at 42 years of age. We selected these species because they belong to different successional groups; B. riedelianum is late secondary and P. dubium is a pioneer species. We aimed to determine and then compare growth characteristics and to relate them to wood density and vessel diameter. P. dubium presented a higher mean annual increment compared to B. riedelianum, and this difference was directly related to successional group. These differences were also related to structural variations, in which B. riedelianum presented smaller vessel diameter compared to P. dubium, as well as denser wood, either by the slower growth, the consensus line of reasoning, or, alternatively, climax and high longevity species tend to have denser wood, while pioneer species have lower density when compared to other successional groups. For timber producers requiring high productivity with a faster cycle, P. dubium is the indicated species. On the other hand, if a producer prefers denser and more strength wood, albeit with slower cycle, then B. riedelianum is indicated. It was revealed that species can be planted together, allowing a longer cycle with the wood supply in different periods and with different characteristics.