Wood properties of Carapa guianensis from floodplain and upland forests in Eastern Amazonia, Brazil.

The variable environmental conditions of the Amazon forest can affect the wood properties of the tree species distributed across its diverse phytophysiognomies. Carapa guianensis (Andiroba) occurs in upland and floodplain forests, and the wood and oil of its seeds have multiple uses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the wood properties of C. guianensis trees in upland and estuarine floodplain forests of the Amazon River. Eight trees were selected, with four being from the upland and four from the floodplain forests. The fiber length, fiber wall thickness, vessel diameter and frequency, microfibril angle, specific gravity and wood shrinkage were evaluated. The juvenile and mature wood zones were determined according to these variables. The fiber length, fiber wall thickness and specific gravity increased, and microfibril angle decreased, in the pith to bark direction. Only the fiber length variable was efficient for delimiting juvenile, transition and mature wood. The fiber length, wall thickness and specific gravity of wood were higher in upland forest trees. However, the environment did not alter the beginning of the formation and proportion of C. guianensis mature wood. This information is important for the log fit in cutting diagrams, aiming toward improving the production, classification and processing of pieces with specific quality indexes in order to direct them to appropriate wood uses.

Caracterização da madeira de quatro espécies florestais / Characterization of wood of four forest species

O conhecimento das relações existentes entre a estrutura anatômica da madeira com suas propriedades físicas ou mecânicas é importante para seu uso adequado. Este trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar a anatomia microscópica e propriedades físicas da madeira de quatro diferentes espécies florestais. A madeira estudada foi proveniente das seguintes espécies: Cedrela fissilis (Cedro), Híbrido clonal Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis (Eucalipto urograndis), Hovenia dulcis (Uva do Japão) e Gallesia integrifolia (Pau d'alho). Para a determinação da retratibilidade, utilizou-se a norma MB26/40 da ABNT (1940); as dimensões lineares foram obtidas com palmer, precisão de 0,001mm. O estudo da anatomia da madeira seguiu as recomendações da norma de procedimento em estudos de anatomia de madeira, da COPANT (1974) e também da IAWA (1989). Os caracteres anatômicos avaliados foram: diâmetro tangencial (µm) e frequência de vasos (nomm-2); comprimento de fibra (µm), diâmetro de lume (µm) e espessura de parede de fibra (µm); altura (µm), largura (µm) e frequência de raios (nomm-1). Os valores do coeficiente anisotrópico foram de 1,16; 1,77; 1,81 e 1,84 para a madeira de C. fissilis, H. dulcis, Híbrido clonal e G. integrifolia, respectivamente, demonstrando que a madeira de C. fissilis possui elevada estabilidade dimensional e as demais madeiras, valores aceitáveis para esse coeficiente.

This study aimed to characterize the microscopic anatomy and physical properties of wood from four different forest species. The wood has been studied from the following species: Cedrela fissilis, Crossbreed clone Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis, Hovenia dulcis and Gallesia integrifolia. To determine the shrinkage it was used the standard of MB26/40 of ABNT (1940), the linear dimensions were obtained with palmer, accuracy of 0.001mm. The study of wood anatomy followed the recommendations of standard procedure in studies of anatomy of wood, COPANT (1974) and also the IAWA (1989). The anatomical characters evaluated were: tangential diameter (µm) and frequency of vessels (nomm-2), fiber length (µm), diameter of lumen (µm) and wall thickness of fiber (µm), height (µm), width (µm) and frequency of rays (nomm-1). The anisotropic factor values were of 1.17, 1.83, 1.89 and 1.90 for C. fissilis, H. dulcis, Crossbreed clone and G. integrifolia, respectively, showing that the C. fissilis wood has high stability dimensional and wood other acceptable values for this coefficient.

Resistência natural da madeira de Tectona grandis em ensaio de laboratório / Natural resistance of Tectona grandis wood in laboratory assay

O objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar a resistência natural da madeira de teca (Tectona grandis) a fungos e térmitas xilófagos em condições de laboratório. As árvores empregadas possuíam 15 anos de idade, provenientes de um plantio da Empresa Celulose Nipo Brasileira - CENIBRA S.A., localizada no município de Belo Oriente, Estado de Minas Gerais. Para a determinação da resistência natural da madeira a agentes xilófagos, foram realizados ensaios de apodrecimento acelerado em laboratório com os fungos Postia placenta, Neolentinus lepideus, Polyporus fumosus, e de preferência alimentar com cupins subterrâneos Nasutitermes sp. Corpos de prova foram retirados em quatro posições no sentido medula casca: cerne interno (próximo da medula), cerne intermediário, cerne externo (próximo ao alburno) e no alburno, na altura de 1,30m do nível do solo e submetidos à ação dos fungos por 13 semanas e cupins por 45 dias. Constatou-se que o cerne da madeira de teca proveniente do Vale do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, foi altamente resistente, tendo o cerne interno sido menos resistente que as demais porções do cerne à ação dos agentes xilófagos, enquanto a madeira de alburno foi classificada como de resistência moderada (Polyporus fumosus) ou resistente (Postia placenta e Neolentinus lepideus).

This research aimed to evaluate the natural resistance of teak wood (Tectona grandis) to xylophagous fungi and termites in laboratory conditions. It was used trees with fifteen years old, from a plantation of the Forest Enterprise Celulose Nipo Brasileira - CENIBRA S.A., located in Belo Oriente, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. To determine the natural resistance of teak wood in laboratory were employed the Postia placenta, Neolentinus lepideus, Polyporus fumosus and Fomes connatus fungi and to termites resistance was employed the feeding preference assay with subterranean termites Nasutitermes sp. Samples were taken from four positions in the stem (heartwood near the pith, heartwood intermediate, outer heartwood and sapwood) at 1,30m to soil level and submitted to the action of fungi for thirteen weeks and termites for 45 days. It was found that the heartwood of teakwood from the Vale do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais State, Brazil was highly resistant. The internal heartwood was less resistant than the other portions of the heartwood to action of wood decay agents, while the sapwood was classified as moderately resistant (Polyporus fumosus) or resistant (Postia placenta and Neolentinus lepideus).