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Journal of Wood Science

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

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Fibril angle variability in earlywood of Norway spruce using soft rot cavities and polarization confocal microscopy

Journal of Wood Science volume 48, pages 255–263 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the variability of the fibril angle of tracheids in earlywood of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.). Polarization confocal microscopy was chosen and compared with the method utilizing the orientation of soft rot cavities. There was a significant correlation between the soft rot and polarization confocal microscopy methods, which showed the same trend of high fibril angles in the first part of the earlywood followed by a decrease toward the end of earlywood. This declining trend was less pronounced in annual rings containing compression wood. Moreover, large variations in fibril angle occurred between neighboring tracheids. The investigation also emphasized the differences between X-ray diffraction and microscopic methods, as the large variation seen by the latter methods is not seen by the X-ray diffraction approach because of its large area of measurement. No correlation was found between fiber morphology (i.e., average length, width, density) and the average fibril angle in the investigated annual rings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swedish Pulp and Paper Research Institute (STFI), Stockholm, Sweden

    Anna Bergander & Lennart Sahnen

  2. Wood Ultrastructure Research Centre (WURC), Department of Wood Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7008, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Jonas Brändström & Geoffrey Daniel

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  1. Anna Bergander
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  2. Jonas Brändström
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  3. Geoffrey Daniel
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  4. Lennart Sahnen
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Correspondence to Jonas Brändström.

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Bergander, A., Brändström, J., Daniel, G. et al. Fibril angle variability in earlywood of Norway spruce using soft rot cavities and polarization confocal microscopy. J Wood Sci 48, 255–263 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00831344

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00831344

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