Comparison of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Scots Pine Wood Grown in Different Climatypes

It is important to comprehend the physical and mechanical properties of Scots pine wood from various geographical origins in order to use it effectively and rationally in production. The purpose of the study is to determine the physical and mechanical properties of Scots pine wood from 17 climatic ecotypes and to conduct a comparative analysis of the received indicators for the studied climatypes separately and for subspecies, which were grouped according to the classification of L.F. Pravdin. The physical properties that were chosen for the investigation were wood density in an absolutely dry state and at 12 % moisture content. The mechanical characteristics were the tensile strength of the wood along the fibers and the tensile strength in static bending. The range of geographic origins of the seed harvesting locations was from 47 to 62 °N and 22 to 85 °E. The investigation was conducted using contemporary universal testing equipment, MTS Insight 100. It was found that the density of the wood varied from 370 kg/m3 (Kursk climatype) to 524 kg/m3 (Volgograd climatype) under absolutely dry conditions and from 397 kg/m3 (Kursk climatype) to 550 kg/m3 (Volgograd climatype) at 12 % moisture content. The tensile strength of wood along the fibers ranged from 32 MPa (Kursk climatype) to 54 MPa (Volgograd climatype), while the tensile strength in static bending was from 55 to 92 MPa for the Vologda and Ulyanovsk climatypes, respectively. The maximum wood density at 12 % moisture content was 497±8 kg/m3, which is typical for European subspecies. The minimum value of this indicator was 423±30 kg/m3. The medium values had Lapland subspecies and Steppe subspecies 483±16 kg/m3 and 464±12 kg/m3, respectively. The tensile strength of wood along the fibers in the studied subspecies ranged from 47±1 MPa (European subspecies) to 33±4 MPa (Siberian subspecies). For Lapland subspecies, it was 44±2 MPa and slightly lower for Steppe subspecies, which was 42±2 MPa. The maximum value of the tensile strength in static bending for European subspecies was 78±4 MPa. The minimum value for the Siberian subspecies was 61±14 MPa. This indicator was equal for Steppe subspecies and Lapland subspecies, which was 72±4 MPa. For citation: Rabko S.U., Melnik P.G., Kozel A.V., Paplauskaya L.F., Tupik P.V., Nosnikau V.V. Comparison of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Scots Pine Wood Grown in Different Climatypes. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 4, pp. 26–40. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-4-26-40