MODELING WOOD SHRINKAGE AND SIMULATING THE SILVICULTURAL INFLUENCE IN EUROPEAN OAK (QUERCUS-PETRAEA AND QUERCUS-ROBUR)

Various wood shrinkages in relation to cambial age and ring width were examined in 23 trees of European oak (Quercus petraea and Quercus robur) from northeast France. Based on the relationship, individual models were developed for predicting tangential, radial and volumetric shrinkage. The results show that the models developed are able to predict tangenitial, radial and volumetric shrinkage satisfactorily. The goodness of the models, however, is different from nee to tree, and a general model explains only small amount of the variation because of a large intertree variation of wood shrinkage in the species. The simulation reveals that the dynamic silviculture applied to European oak may result in the production of wood with higher and more uniform shrinkage, compared with the classical silviculture.