Assessing the Translucence and Color-Change Methods for Estimating Sapwood Depth in Three Boreal Species

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Valeo_C_Forests_2018.pdf (2.43 MB)

Date

2018

Authors

Quiñonez-Piñón, M. Rebeca
Valeo, Caterina

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Forests

Abstract

The translucence and color change in wood methods, which are commonly used to differentiate sapwood from heartwood in tree cores, are compared against the microscopic analysis of wood anatomy method for determining sapwood depth. The translucence method was tested on collected wood cores of White Spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). The color change in wood method was tested on Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). For every statistical comparison, sapwood depth values obtained with the translucence or color-change methods were significantly different from those obtained using the microscopic analysis. Using the sapwood depth values obtained with microscopy as a reference, the bias associated with the translucence or color-change methods used on Picea glauca, Pinus banksiana and Populus tremuloides constantly under- or overestimated sapwood depths within −0.3 cm to 1.6 cm; −4.9 cm to 0.5 cm; and 0 to 1.8 cm, respectively. The different ranges of over- and underestimation arise from species-specific anatomical characteristics. Estimates for the errors in sapwood depth, when the depth is measured using either the translucence or color-change methods, are presented. These relationships and research outcomes will lead to more efficient forest monitoring and improved estimates of forest water balance, which in turn will lead to improved forest management in the face of climate change.

Description

Keywords

sapwood depth, translucence method, wood color-change method, sapwood area, allometric correlations, Picea glauca, Pinus banksiana, Populus tremuloides

Citation

Quiñonez-Piñón , R.M. & Valeo, C. (2018). Assessing the Translucence and Color-Change Methods for Estimating Sapwood Depth in Three Boreal Species. Forests, 9(11), 686. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9110686

URI

http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f9110686
 http://hdl.handle.net/1828/10695

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