Growth characteristics and wood qualities of less common agroforestry tree species in the semi-arid zone for the production of high-quality pulp and paper

Abstract

The suitability of five less common agroforestry tree species—Ailanthus excelsa, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Leucaena leucocephala, Melia dubia, and Neolamarckia cadamba—for pulp and paper production in the semi-arid region of Bundelkhand, India, was assessed by examining their growth characteristics, wood qualities, fibre dimensions, and fiber-derived indices. The outcome showed that every attribute under study had a considerable variance. The range of all the studied growth and wood traits among five pulpwood trees were recorded for tree height (5.2-5.9 m), GBH (20-24 cm), volume (0.017-0.027 m3), biomass (8.50-15.28 kg), wood basic density (509.6-584.4 kg/m3), fibre length (819.8-1416.0 µm), fibre diameter (14.6-37.9 µm), fibre lumen diameter (7.5-29.8 µm), fibre double cell wall thickness (4.8-9.7 µm), Runkel ratio (0.23-0.94), Rigidity coefficient (0.19-0.49), Flexibility coefficient (51.54-81.44), Slenderness ratio (31.68-62.74) and Luce’s shape factor (0.20-0.58). All five species were determined to be appropriate for producing high-quality pulp and paper based on wood characteristics and fiber-derived indices grown in such hot and dry circumstances, but Kadamb fared best. The physical and anatomical characteristics of the wood were significantly impacted by tree height and GBH features. As a result, these attributes may be employed as indirect selection to further enhance the species that have shown high potentiality for promising pulpwood tree species under agroforestry. In order to meet the fastest-growing demand for pulpwood for India's paper industry, more study on tree development is needed to determine the best time to harvest for high pulp production and higher paper quality.