Tropical wood and their properties in relation to ecological temperament

Abstract

Gabon is a tropical country with vast forested areas, covering more than 80% of its territory. These forested areas contain a wide diversity of tree species that are still little studied, particularly in terms of the ecological profile of species in relation to their technological properties. This study aimed to highlight the differences among three ecological temperaments by analyzing fifteen properties from CIRAD physical-mechanical database. The species studied were forty-eight tropical hardwoods from Gabon. The results showed differences in ecological temperaments for two of the fifteen properties selected. Shade-tolerant species had better resistance to shear than hemi-heliophilous and light-demanding species. They were also relatively more resistant to fractionation than species in the other two groups. Statistically, there was no difference between the hemi-heliophilous and pioneer groups. Most of the properties studied were positively correlated with each other, particularly the mechanical properties with density. The linear relationships between wood density, on one hand, and shear, splitting, perpendicular tension and hardness, on the other hand, were found to be dependent on ecological temperament.