Efecto del ángulo microfibrilar en las características tecnológicas de la madera de Pinus pseudostrobus var. apulcensis

Microfibril angle (MFA) is the inclination of the cellulose microfibrils within the cell wall relative to the vertical axis of the cell. This characteristic contributes to explaining the variations in the physical and mechanical properties of processed wood and fiber. Pinus pseudostrobus var. apulcensis is a forest species na tive to Mexico with great economic and industrial importance. 10 healthy trees of this species were randomly selected on a plantation in Texcoco, Mexico, and from each tree a core was extracted at 1,30 m stem height. Microfibril angle, basic density (BD), tracheid length (TL) and volumetric contraction (VC) were measured in order to determine the effect of MFA on said technological characteristics in this wood. An average MFA of 28,8 ° was obtained; Average BD of 430 kg/m 3 ; Average TL of 3516 µm and an average VC of 10,3 %. Gen eralized additive models (GAM) were adjusted between the MFA as the explanatory variable and each of the three response variables separately. Finally, a generalized additive model was adjusted to know the behavior of BD, TL and VC as a function of MFA. This generated model had an explanatory capacity of 88,2 %. The best explained variable by MFA was TL (explanatory capacity of 83,3 %). It would be interesting to see if this behavior occurs in other Mexican pine species.