Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

A Comparison of Increment Core Sampling for Estimating Tree Specific Gravity

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Increment cores have been used to evaluate such tree characteristics as age, rate of growth, percentage of various types of tissue, chemical composition, and density. Of the wood characteristics listed, density has come to be of considerable interest to numerous researchers, since it is highly correlated with the strength properties, workability, and weight of wood. Pulp companies are using wood density to help them predict pulp yield. Geneticists and forest managers are using density as a criterion for selecting superior trees for seed orchards and tree breeding studies. Although increment cores have been used to good advantage in evaluating some properties, their value in estimating tree density or the density of large pieces of wood is still open to question. For instance, some studies show that increment cores tend to give higher density values than normal, whereas others show that increment cores give low specific gravity values. Some show significant differences between cores and larger pieces, whereas others do not. The relative amount of variation which can be accounted for by increment cores in statistical analyses is high in some studies and low in others. Researchers still don't know how many cores to use or whether to use only part of each core.

Citation

Taras, Michael A.; Wadlgren, Harold E. 1963. A Comparison of Increment Core Sampling for Estimating Tree Specific Gravity. Res. Pap. SE-7. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 14 p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/3229