Bulk density of southern pine logs

Bulk density (green, debarked, wood weight per cubic foot) of shortleaf and loblolly pine sawlogs was investigated for two regions. From East Texas, 291 logs (122 butt logs and 169 upper logs) and from South Carolina, 254 logs (62 butt logs and 192 upper logs) were studied. The bulk density values were determined by dividing the log weight by the volume estimated by Smalian’s formula. The South Carolina butt logs also had bulk density values determined by calculating the log volume as two sections with the diameter at breast height (DBH) used as the break point. Also, bulk density estimates were made for the South Carolina logs using moisture content and specific gravity cross-sectional disks. Statistically, there was no difference between upper logs from the two regions. There was a difference between butt logs. There also was a difference between average butt log and average upper log (17% difference with one-section butt logs and 5% difference with two-section butt logs). There was no difference in bulk density values between butt and upper logs when estimated by cross-sectional disk. There was a slight decrease in bulk density with an increase in scaling diameter for all logs. The average values for upper logs were 60.8 pcf for one-section logs and 61.0 pcf for cross-sectional disks. The average values for butt logs were 51.8 pcf for one-section logs, 57.5 pcf for two-section logs, and 60.2 pcf for the cross-sectional disks.

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