Anatomical Characteristics and Assessment of Wood Fibers Quality of Mature Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur L.) Trees Grown in Different Environmental Conditions

Abstract

From productive and ecological point of view, Quercus robur L. is an extremely important species and the investigation of its anatomical properties is very significant in terms of its technical and technological utilization. The paper deals with the analysis of the wood fiber characteristics (fiber length, fiber lumen width, double-cell wall thickness, Runkel ratio) of mature pedunculate oak trees in the non-flooded (Management Unit "Vinična-Žeravinac-Puk") and flooded area (Management Unit "GVO 83 b"). One of the aims of the study is to determine the wood fiber quality and the possibility of use in paper and pulp production. When the mean values of the analysed anatomical characteristics are compared, the results show slightly higher values in the non-flooded area, except for the Runkel ratio. The radial pattern of the investigated characteristics depending on the age shows growth in the non-flooded area, while the same tendency in the flooded area was found for the fiber length only. It was recorded that fiber lumen width, double-cell wall thickness and Runkel ratio decreased in the final annual rings. The wood fiber quality for use in pulp and paper production is the greatest in the juvenile zone, unlike sapwood zone, regardless of the site conditions.