Variation in Bark proportion, Grain Orientation, Sapwood and Heartwood of Some Plantation Grown Sudano Sahelian Wood Species

Sotannde O.A1., Riki J.T.B.2., Umar M3. and Mukhtar R. B3.

1 Departmentof Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

2 Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.

3 Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State, Nigeria.

Corresponding Author: mumar.fwm@buk.edu.ng

Acceptedon February 12, 2020.

Abstract

The study investigate the variation in grain orientation, bark proportion, sapwood and heartwood proportion of Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Leucaena leucocephala, Prosopis juliflora and Ziziphus mauritiana. Sample trees with clear bole were randomly selected from the 0.5 hectare Department of Forestry and Wildlife nursery located within the campus of University of Maiduguri. Three discs of 6cm thickness each were obtained at three sampling points i.e. base, middle and top along the sampling height to investigate the selected properties. There is a significant variation in all the properties examined among the tree species and along the sampling height except for grain orientation along the sampling height (P > 0.05). The highest sapwood proportion was found in Prosopis juliflora with 57.53% sapwood while the highest heartwood proportion was found in Eucalyptus camaldulensis (71.54%) followed by Leucaena leucocephala with 57.59%. The highest grain orientation was 3.23o and the least, 2.48 o in Leucaena leucocephala and Ziziphus mauritiana respectively. The study provided information on wood quality attributes of the selected plantation-grown species which are comparable to other hardwood species. This can be used in determining their application for either heavy works and for building, construction and other purposes. Keywords: Physical properties, sampling height, bark proportion, grain orientation, sapwood, heartwood.

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