Effect of Environment on Ratio of Cellulose to Lignin in Shortleaf Pine

The pursuit of high quality trees has been limited to specific gravity, fiber length, and fibril angle as measures of quality. But in the bleached pulp and dissolving cellulose field, the cellulose content is more meaningful. The question asked is: is cellulose content influenced by environment? An experiment was designed to examine this question. Three sites within l/2 mile of each other were selected and two dominant and two suppressed trees were picked within each site. Two increment borings were made at breast height and the juvenile wood separated from the mature wood. Samples were ground in a Wiley mill, extracted, and subjected to holocellulose and cellulose analysis according to Tappi standard methods. The results showed no significant differences in chemical content between trees on different sites. Latewood had higher cellulose than earlywood in juvenile wood but the difference was less apparent in mature wood. There was no correlation between the cellulose content of juvenile wood and mature wood; therefore, the chemical analyses of seedlings cannot be used to predict the constituents in older trees. It is concluded that the ratio of early- to latewood has a greater influence on the carbohydrate content of wood in shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) than does quality of site.

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