Delimitação estatística dos lenhos juvenil e adulto de Eucalyptus e Corymbia

Abstract

The aim of this work was to determine the limit between juvenile and mature wood in Eucalyptus pilularis, Eucalyptus saligna, Eucalyptus cloeziana and Corymbia maculata at the age of 37 years, based on the pith to bark analysis of the variation of fibers length and microfibril angle. Two trees of each species were cut and 10 cm thick discs were removed from the base of the trunk. Samples were drawn in the pith-bark direction in the discs to determine the variation of microfibril angle and fiber length. E. saligna presented the highest mean fiber length and the smallest mean microfibril angle. The transition ages, estimated by analyzing the radial variation of the fibers length, were smaller than those estimated by the analysis of the microfibril angle variation. The response plateau analysis of regression allowed estimating the point at which stabilization of fiber length and microfibril angle occurs for the species analyzed.