Correlation of wood density with pulping parameters
The representation of pulp yield as a function of wood
density (Fig. 3) revealed no influence of wood density on
pulp yield (r2 = 0.003). As a consequence, very different yields were obtained with samples with similar wood
densities, e.g., pulp yield could range from 47.9 to 55.6 %
for samples with densities around 550 kg m-3. This finding
that screened pulp yield is not correlated with wood
density opens good opportunities for tree selection for both
traits in A. melanoxylon stands in Portugal. The results also
follow the general trend shown by other researchers of no
correlation between wood density and pulp yield, such as
reported for E. globulus by Miranda and Pereira [12], Seca
and Domingues [11] and Silva et al. [1].