Macrostructural changes in xylem by trunk height in natural and artificial pine forests of the Republic of Tatarstan

The article considers the features of variation of anatomical characteristics and density of wood along the trunk in stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The objects of the study were forest plantations on former arable land with an average age of 55 years and natural stands aged 85 years on forest soils (the parent soils on the sites and the landscape conditions are similar). Trial areas were laid out on each of the objects, on which model trees were cut down from various diameter classes, and then buckled into segments of 10%. Further, the macrostructure of wood along the trunk height was studied on the selected discs, with the allocation of late and early xylem zones in annual growth width, and the basic density of wood was measured. The study showed that forest plantations on old arable soils formed a large average annual layer width along the trunk with a slightly increased proportion of early xylem relative to natural stands. At the same time, the increased proportion of early xylem in the annual layer width did not lead to the formation of significantly less dense wood in the plantation. The density of trunk wood in the most represented diameter classes (20-24 cm) in forest plantations and in natural stands is similar at a 95% confidence level. Given the superior productivity of the studied forest crops (255 m³/ha versus 210 m³/ha in natural stands), it can be concluded that in the Republic of Tatarstan the phytomass of such plantations significantly exceeds the natural stands on in similar landscapes by the age of 55 years. The aligned conditions at the site with forest plantations (old arable soils with constant mixing of the upper soil horizons and ordinary planting) led to less variability in annual growth rates along the trunk relative to a naturally formed stand, in which the influence of competition within the stand and the features of the microrelief areas occupied by individual trees led to large fluctuations in parameters. 

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