Long-term effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration on sour orange wood specific gravity, modulus of elasticity, and microfibril angle
By: David Kretschmann ... [et al.].
Contributors: Kretschmann, David E.; Forest Products Laboratory (U.S.)
Series: Research note FPL -- RN-0307.; Research note FPL -- 0306.
Publisher: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
Published: 2007
Place of publication: [Madison, WI]
Language: eng
Subjects: Sour orange.; Sour orange -- Effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on.; Sour orange -- Mechanical properties.; Atmospheric carbon dioxide.; Specific gravity.
Description: The carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration of Earth's atmosphere continues to rise. Plants in general are responsive to changing CO₂ concentrations, which suggests changes in agricultural productivity in the United States and around the world. The ability of plants to absorb CO₂ during photosynthesis and then store carbon in their structure or sequester it in the soil has potential for mitigating the rate of rise of atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Since 1987, Bruce Kimball and coworkers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Phoenix, Arizona, have maintained a greenhouse gas experiment using sour orange trees maintained in a CO₂- enriched environment. These trees were harvested in 2005. During the final massive harvest, many different properties and characteristics of the woody biomass for these sour orange trees were studied. This report focuses only on the mechanical property evaluation of modulus of elasticity (MOE), specific gravity, and microfibril angle. In this study of CO₂-exposed sour orange trees, CO₂ did not significantly affect specific gravity of sour orange trees. Exposure to CO₂ did not significantly affect MOE of sour orange trees. Exposure to CO₂ did, however, seem to influence microfibril angle development. Minor interactions between CO₂ and cardinal direction affected the MOE and were caused by experimental difference in chamber construction.
Notes: Cover title.

"September 2007"--P. [2] of cover.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 6-7).

Also available via Internet from the FPL web site.