Variation of wood color parameters of Tectona grandis and its relationship with physical environmental factors
Artículo académicoIntervalo de fecha/hora
Context: Teak's wood color is considered an important attribute in the marketing phase and it has been influenced by environmental setting, stand conditions and management, plant genetic source, and age. However, there is a lack of understanding about how the environmental factors might affect the teak's wood color planted in short-rotation forest plantations. Aims: The aim of this study is to understand the relationship, gathered from generated information, between edaphic and climatic variables and their effects in the wood color variation of Tectona grandis from trees in forest plantations. Methods: Twenty-two plots were grouped in five cluster sites that shared similar climatic and soil conditions. Data about soil's physical-chemical properties and climatic variables were collected and analyzed. Representative trees were harvested next to each plot in order to obtain a wood sample per tree at a diameter breast height.Wood color was measured using standardized CIELab's chromaticity system. Results: After comparing the wood change color index (E) in the five studied clusters, it was found that heartwood produced from drier and fertile sites had more yellowish-brown color. The heartwood b color index resulted with significant correlations (R>0.5, P<0.05) among nine climatic and eight edaphic variables. Conclusión:It was concluded that climatic variables should be considered as the first-order causal variables to explain wood color variation. Hence, darker b wood color was associated with dry climates; also, with deeper and fertile sites.
