Wood density variation in E. deglupta

Bottom of previous page and left: Specimens from three different E. deglupta trees at Ossima collected by me on 19 August 1968 and deposited in the Herbarium in Lae. The generally broader leaves of these specimens, and the ones from Pagei, compared to the New Britain sources were noteworthy.

The team flew back to Vanimo to spend the night there. On Tuesday 20 August Lindsay and I travelled to Lae by air. On 21 August we spent the day at the Herbarium in Lae inspecting all the eucalypt specimens held there. There was an opportunity to divide up the large number of specimens of E. deglupta that we had collected between those for the local Herbarium and those to be sent to Canberra for Professor Pryor to lodge in the Gauba Herbarium of the Botany Department at ANU. Extra duplicates, where available, were sent to other herbaria, in the following order: Leiden, Queensland Herbarium, Canberra (now the Australian National Herbarium, CSIRO), Harvard University, Kew, Bogor, Singapore, NSW National Herbarium Sydney, Bishop Museum, the Smithsonian Institution and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Lindsay flew from Lae to Port Moresby on Thursday 22 August and spent Friday in the Department of Forests at Konedobu reporting on our activities. On Thursday 22 August I flew from Lae to Rabaul where I was met by a vehicle from Keravat and taken home. I spent Friday 23 August at Keravat putting finishing touches to my presentation for the Silvicultural Research Conference at Bulolo. While I had been away, the final computer printouts for wood density had arrived in Keravat. This enabled me to add more information on the wood density of E. deglupta to my forthcoming presentation.

Wood density variation in E. deglupta

The results showed a phenotypic range of density of over 20% (0.45 – 0.57 gms/cc at 8% moisture content) among the nine Keravat trees. The patterns of variation in density in each of the nine sampled trees were complex.

Wood density variation in two of the nine sample trees of E. deglupta (KT 1 and 2, pith to bark in the north cardinal direction). For all nine sample trees, in very general terms, there was an increase in density from pith to bark and an increase from ground level to about 30% of tree height, then a decrease from there to the 70% height level (and probably continuing to decrease above that level). For the nine sample trees KT 1 – 9, weighted whole tree densities were 0.51, 0.51 0.49, 0.54, 0.45, 0.46, 0.56, 0.57, and 0.50 gms/cc respectively. Trees KT 7 –9 from natural forest, of undetermined age but similar to slightly larger size, had an average density about 9% greater than the 19-year-old plantation trees (KT 1 – 6).