The Influence of Environment on the Development of Heartwood in Pinus Radiata (Don)

Abstract

1. Pinus radiata (Don) has been planted so extensively in New Zealand, and also in Australia and South Africa, as to be the dominant species of exotic forests in these countries. Of very limited distribution in its own country, it has shown an ability to grow more vigorously on a wider range of sites than any other introduced tree species, so that its cultivation and utilisation have become almost a specialised branch of forestry. Because it is of no commercial significance in its own country investigations of its wood properties and its silvicultural characteristics have been carried out chiefly in the countries of its adoption, and Thomson (27) lists more than one hundred and fifty papers, most of which have appeared within the past twenty five years, dealing solely or in part with the characteristics of the species.