Influence of site on sapwood and heartwood ratios of Turkish calabrian pine

Abstract

In this study, the influence of site factor on the sapwood and heartwood ratios of Turkish calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) species was determined. The wood in this study was grown on four different sites in Turkey: Sucati-Kahramanmaras, Melli-Burdur, Yilanli-Mugla, and Kemalpasa-Izmir. The results indicated that the sapwood and heartwood ratios of the calabrian pine wood grown on these four sites averaged 93.81 percent and 6.13 percent, respectively. The highest heartwood ratio (8.33%) was determined for Sucati, followed by Yilanli, Melli, and Kemalpasa. Based on the results of the analysis of variance and the Scheffe test, it was found that differences in sapwood and heartwood ratios among the sites were quite significant (P < 0.01). These differences in sapwood and heartwood ratios might be attributed to ecological factors such as altitude, lime and organic material content of the soil, and soil type.