Radial distribution of heartwood extractives in second-growth western redcedar

Abstract

Western redcedar has high economic value and has been traditionally used for cultural purposes by Indigenous communities. Second-growth redcedar is potentially growing faster due to lower planting densities, fertilization, and tree breeding. Little quantitative information is available about the impact of management practices on wood quality, particularly heartwood extractives. This study evaluated the effects of growth rate and site on heartwood extractives at two locations aged 70–90 years in British Columbia, Canada. A three-parameter sigmoid model was fit to the data using nonlinear mixed effects to analyze the relationship between heartwood extractives relative to cambial age, growth rate, and sampling site. The southern site had significantly higher cumulative extractive concentrations, while all extractive concentrations increased faster. This study shows that smaller trees will reach their peak concentrations earlier than larger trees. Results show that faster growth through active management of western redcedar may lead to increased and more uniformly distributed content of heartwood extractives.