The chances of economically assessing stand with productive functions is linked to an awareness of features of the wood that can be produced both in terms of quality an quantity. An awareness of the relationship between these features and the morphological features of the standing trees is fundamental in this context, as in the opportunity of identifying this relationship by means of survey carried out with a limited number of subjects and with non destructive methods. The study undertaken aims to identify and measure some parameters which are easy for foresters to use and which characterise standing trees with regard to the morphology of the trunk and the crown; the features of quality of the timber and the lumber obtained are then correlated to the measurements taken for the standing trees with an aim to identifying the parameters which enable us to assess the stand from the economic point of view.
The experimental methodology adopted consists of survey of the morphological features of the standing trees, the classification of the timber according to the related CEN standardisation projects and the classification of the lumber obtained on the basis of the prENs for structural and non-structural lumber. At the same time the physical and mechanical features of the wood were determined in a sample of wood taken from the trees under study. From an analysis of the correlations between the parameters considered at the various stages of the transformation of the wood used, the study identifies which of the morphological features contribute most to the quality of the final product.
This study, which should be considered as preliminary, was carried out in a forest in Trentino (Italy) on five Norway spruces trees which were cut down. Their stems were monitored throughout the entire process of manufacturing up until the stacking of the lumber. The first results have shown encouraging correlations between some of morphological parameters measured in the trees and the yield of boards in terms of both quality and quantity.
Key words: Picea abies, wood quality, stem quality.
Correspondence: Nicola Macchioni, CNR-Istituto per la Tecnologia del Legno, Via Biasi, 75, I-38010 S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
Telefax: +39-461-650045