ABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of thinning on the fiber length of the Eucalyptus grandis at 18 years of age. To do so, it was analyzed a thinning experiment, located in the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul state, installed in randomized blocks with four repetitions. The treatments were defined in accordance with the number of thinning applied and ranged from zero to six interventions. The trees were selected, in each treatment, on the basis of the Assmann's dominant diameter and the central diameter of tree, being referred to as dominant and central trees, respectively. After cutting down, in the disk corresponding to the region of the DBH (diameter at breast height) were marked and sectioned central baguettes where one crafted fragments selected at regular intervals in pith-to-bark direction for maceration. The results indicated that thinning influenced the dominants and centrals trees fiber length; however, there was no clear positive or negative systematic trend this structure in function of the vital space used. Independently of dominant or average stratum, the fiber length showed a pattern of increasing from pith to bark in all thinning intensities analyzed and the lowest values were observed near the pith.
Keywords:
forestry management; anatomical elements; wood quality