Technical properties of beech wood from aged coppices in central Italy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the features of timber from aged coppices in transition to high forests to provide a basis for their more efficient utilization. In the last decades, the abandonment of agricultural activities in mountain areas and the introduction of a territorial protection policy have led to a less intensive use of forests and the suspension of cuttings, which has resulted in the conversion of coppices into transitional high forests, now at the stage of thinning. In such condition, high-quality timber is difficult to obtain and wood supply is highly variable and hardly processable during manufacture. Two aged coppices of beech were selected in central Italy (Terminillo mountain, Rieti) and their wood specimens analyzed for several physical and mechanical characteristics: dry (719-688 kg m-3) and basic density (585-560 kg m-3); radial (7.06-7.17%), tangential (12.43-11.72%), and volumetric shrinkage (19.05- 18.51%); axial compression strength (54.7-54.4 Mpa); static bending strength (100.9-108.4 MPa); and Brinell hardness (29.8-27.7 N mm-2). A colorimetric analysis was also carried out on wood specimens after aging treatments (light exposure up to 504 hours) using the CIELAB system. A set of equations was derived in order to predict the wood color characteristics as a function of the exposure time, and vice versa to assess the exposure time needed to obtain the desired color coordinates. Our results highlight that beech wood from aged coppices in central Italy has interesting qualitative features, suggesting a more profitable use of their wood than firewood