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Tb139: Stand Age And Density Effects On Volume And Specific Gravity Of Black Spruce, Robert K. Shepard, James E. Shottafer, William C. Bragg

Technical Bulletins

Ten dominant or codominant trees were sampled from a 29-year-old black spruce stand, released at age 19, and ten of comparable dbh from a 77-year-old, unthinned stand. A variety of characteristics, including taper, volume, and specific gravity of the bole, as well as the change in specific gravity with age at breast height, were determined for trees from both stands. The older trees had significantly less taper, shorter crowns, approximately 1.9 times more merchantable volume and 10% higher specific gravity. The juvenile period for specific gravity was approximately 60 years. The higher specific gravity and merchantable volume of the older …