INFLUENCE OF SOIL TYPE ON WOOD DENSITY AND MEAN ANNUAL INCREMENT IN TWO COMMERCIAL Eucalyptus CLONES

Abstract

In forest plantations, the productive potential of a given site results from the interaction between genetic materials and environmental conditions. Both are fundamental factors for wood quality and Mean Annual Increment. Knowing the performance of different Eucalyptus urophylla commercial clones under different soil conditions is important for forest planning. Our objective is to evaluate the infuence of soil types on Wood Basic Density and Mean Annual Increment - MAI in two E. urophylla clones. We analyzed the Wood Basic Density of 3- to 8-year-old trees and MAI from two clones grown in four soil types in 14 localities of São Paulo state. ANOVA and Tukey test at 5% probability were performed to test the effect of soil type on Wood Basic Density and MAI. Linear and exponential regression equations were performed between Wood Basic Density x MAI and between MAI x Clay Content, respectively. In general, some soils showed signifcant differences in Wood Basic Density, possibly from climatic variation among sites. Also, the MAI increased exponentially with increase of Soil Clay Content (up to about 25 to 35% of clay), but no correlation was observed between MAI and Wood Density.