Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G

Identifying the transition age between juvenile and mature wood is key for designing more efficient silvicultural strategies and optimizing timber exploitation.  The objective of this study was to identify the juvenile wood transition age and analyze certain growth characteristics of Cuban Pinus car...

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Main Authors: Ana Gertrudis Trocones Boggiano, Lidia Gurau, Mihaela Porojan, Mariana Domnica Stanciu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: North Carolina State University 2025-06-01
Series:BioResources
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Online Access:https://ojs.bioresources.com/index.php/BRJ/article/view/24606
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author Ana Gertrudis Trocones Boggiano
Lidia Gurau
Mihaela Porojan
Mariana Domnica Stanciu
author_facet Ana Gertrudis Trocones Boggiano
Lidia Gurau
Mihaela Porojan
Mariana Domnica Stanciu
author_sort Ana Gertrudis Trocones Boggiano
collection DOAJ
description Identifying the transition age between juvenile and mature wood is key for designing more efficient silvicultural strategies and optimizing timber exploitation.  The objective of this study was to identify the juvenile wood transition age and analyze certain growth characteristics of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G by comparing plantation and native populations. Radial variations in growth ring width, latewood proportion, and ultrasonic longitudinal speed were examined to identify the delimitation age from juvenile to mature wood. Visual assessment and statistical analyses, including segmented regression and k-means clustering, were applied. The findings indicated that juvenile wood is formed within the first 5 to 9 years, while mature wood develops after 21 to 26 years. Plantation trees exhibited higher variability and a wider juvenile wood zone (60 mm from the pith) than native trees (43 mm). The mean growth ring in the mature wood was 3.14 mm in native and 3.67 mm in plantation. The latewood proportion stabilized above 50% beyond the transition age, confirming the shift to mature wood, trees from native population developing 22% more latewood than trees from plantation. The ultrasonic speed pattern was similar between populations, validating its use as an indirect indicator of wood maturation.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1930-2126
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher North Carolina State University
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series BioResources
spelling doaj-art-d0baa92e4c4f48a5b9c54bf951d163e42025-08-20T03:45:03ZengNorth Carolina State UniversityBioResources1930-21262025-06-01203624262662910Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&GAna Gertrudis Trocones Boggiano0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5769-2165Lidia Gurau1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9998-6671Mihaela Porojan2Mariana Domnica Stanciu3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6414-9427Department of Agronomy and Forestry, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sancti Spíritus “José Martí Pérez” (UNISS). Str. Cdte Manuel Fajardo s/n. CP. 60100. Sancti Spíritus, Cuba; Department of Wood Processing and Wood Products Design, Faculty of Furniture Design and Wood Engineering, Transilvania University of Braşov. B-dul Eroilor nr.29, 500036, Romania Department of Wood Processing and Wood Products Design, Faculty of Furniture Design and Wood Engineering, Transilvania University of Braşov. B-dul Eroilor nr.29, 500036, RomaniaDepartment of Wood Processing and Wood Products Design, Faculty of Furniture Design and Wood Engineering, Transilvania University of Braşov, RomaniaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transilvania University of Braşov, Romania Identifying the transition age between juvenile and mature wood is key for designing more efficient silvicultural strategies and optimizing timber exploitation.  The objective of this study was to identify the juvenile wood transition age and analyze certain growth characteristics of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G by comparing plantation and native populations. Radial variations in growth ring width, latewood proportion, and ultrasonic longitudinal speed were examined to identify the delimitation age from juvenile to mature wood. Visual assessment and statistical analyses, including segmented regression and k-means clustering, were applied. The findings indicated that juvenile wood is formed within the first 5 to 9 years, while mature wood develops after 21 to 26 years. Plantation trees exhibited higher variability and a wider juvenile wood zone (60 mm from the pith) than native trees (43 mm). The mean growth ring in the mature wood was 3.14 mm in native and 3.67 mm in plantation. The latewood proportion stabilized above 50% beyond the transition age, confirming the shift to mature wood, trees from native population developing 22% more latewood than trees from plantation. The ultrasonic speed pattern was similar between populations, validating its use as an indirect indicator of wood maturation.https://ojs.bioresources.com/index.php/BRJ/article/view/24606juvenile woodmature woodtransitionnative woodplantation woodgrowth ring widthlatewood proportionultrasound speedpinus caribaea
spellingShingle Ana Gertrudis Trocones Boggiano
Lidia Gurau
Mihaela Porojan
Mariana Domnica Stanciu
Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G
BioResources
juvenile wood
mature wood
transition
native wood
plantation wood
growth ring width
latewood proportion
ultrasound speed
pinus caribaea
title Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G
title_full Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G
title_fullStr Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G
title_full_unstemmed Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G
title_short Identification of the Juvenile Wood Transition Age and of Some Growth Characteristics in Plantation vs. Native Populations of Cuban Pinus caribaea M. var. caribaea B&G
title_sort identification of the juvenile wood transition age and of some growth characteristics in plantation vs native populations of cuban pinus caribaea m var caribaea b g
topic juvenile wood
mature wood
transition
native wood
plantation wood
growth ring width
latewood proportion
ultrasound speed
pinus caribaea
url https://ojs.bioresources.com/index.php/BRJ/article/view/24606
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