Reza Oladi; Hamidreza Yavarian; MohammadHossein Sadeghzadeh Hallaj; Kambiz Pourtahmasi
Abstract
Tamarisk is a drought-resistant tree that is important environmentally and has industrial applications in some countries. The aim of this study was to compare different populations of this species in terms of diameter growth rate (growth ring width), physiological adaptability (vascular characteristics) ...
Read More
Tamarisk is a drought-resistant tree that is important environmentally and has industrial applications in some countries. The aim of this study was to compare different populations of this species in terms of diameter growth rate (growth ring width), physiological adaptability (vascular characteristics) and wood application characteristics (fiber biometry). The study was conducted on ten-year-old saplings of six tamarisk populations that had previously been collected from different regions of Iran (Qom, Kashan, Khash, Zabol, Garmsar and Yazd) and planted in Garmsar. The results showed that Garmsar population has the largest diameter and radial growth among populations. This population chose the best strategy for adapting to cold and dry climates by keeping the vessels small and significantly increase their number, instead. This has been the reason for its better radial growth. Although the biometric properties of fibers and paper ratios showed significant statistical differences between populations, these differences were not so great as to have a significant impact on the quality of the resulting paper in practice. Therefore, although the population of Yazd was of better quality in terms of paper parameters, the selection of the best population for industry should not be only based on fiber biometry and other features such as production volume, adaptability to habitat and survival rate of seedlings should be given more importance. The positive correlation between the width of the growth rings and the length of the fibers from the perspective of wood cultivation is very favorable because the treatments that increase the growth rate will also improve the fiber properties. In general, it can be concluded that Garmsar population is the best option for planting and cultivating tamarisk in terms of adaptability to environment and wood farming.
