Growth characteristics and stress-wave velocity of standing trees of three Populus tree species in Mongolia

Abstract

The growth characteristics (stem diameter at 1.3 m above the ground and tree height) and stress-wave velocity of the stem were determined for three species from natural stands in four provenances in Mongolia (Populus laurifolia from Arkhangai, Populus suaveolens from Bulgan and Ulaanbaatar, and Populus × sibirica from Ulaanbaatar) to compare the characteristics among species and to clarify the correlations between the characteristics. The mean stem diameter and tree height values were 25.5 cm and 11.8 m, 20.4 cm and 10.1 m, and 21.8 cm and 9.9 m in P. laurifolia, P. suaveolens, and Populus × sibirica, respectively. The stress-wave velocity of the stems in P. laurifolia (3.30 km s−1) showed a significantly lower value than that of the stems in the other two species, suggesting that the Young’s modulus in P. laurifolia might be low. Although the growth characteristics of P. suaveolens in the Bulgan and Ulaanbaatar were similar, a lower p-value in the t-test was found in the stress-wave velocity of the stems. Furthermore, there were no significant or lower correlation coefficients between the growth characteristics and the stress-wave velocity of the stems in P. laurifolia and P. suaveolens. Based on the results, it is concluded that tree breeding for wood quality can be established for three Populus species in Mongolia.

Keywords

• Populus laurifolia
• Populus suaveolens
• Populus × sibirica
• tree breeding