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Journal of Wood Science

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

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Blackening of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) heartwood in relation to metal content and moisture content

Journal of Wood Science volume 44, pages 137–141 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Blackening in heartwood was investigated in relation to the metal contents and the moisture content in xylem of about 50-year-old seedling sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) planted in a steeply sloped stand in Okutama district (Itsukaichi Tokyo), where blackened heartwood is frequently found. The potassium, calcium, iron, and manganese contents were examined in the variously blackened heartwood and normal heartwood by an atomic absorption method. It was recognized that potassium increased relative to the degree of the blackening of heartwood, resulting in a significant correlation between them. This finding implies that an increase in potassium has an important role in the blackening of heartwood. Moisture content has a tendency to increase in the blackened heartwood, so it seems that the large accumulation of potassium is associated with the high moisture content in heartwood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 183-8509, Fuchu, Japan

    Takafurni Kubo & Shiho Ataka

Authors
  1. Takafurni Kubo
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  2. Shiho Ataka
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Correspondence to Takafurni Kubo.

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This work was presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society at Morioka, August 1993

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Kubo, T., Ataka, S. Blackening of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) heartwood in relation to metal content and moisture content. J Wood Sci 44, 137–141 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00526259

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00526259

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