Acta Scientiarum Polonorum
Silvarum Colendarum Ratio et Industria Lignaria

Background. The study presents a relationship between the provenance of spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and compressive strength along the grain. The main purpose of this study was to analyse the impact of provenance on wood quality.

Material and methods. The research material came from the unique research area of the Department of Silviculture of the University of Life Sciences in Poznań. The area was founded in 1975 at the Forest Experimental Station in Siemianice. The material was represented by rollers taken at breast height from 40-year-old sample trees.

Results. The analysed provenances proved to result in statistically significant differences in compressive strength along the grain. The average compressive strength of all samples was 20.17 MPa. The greatest strength was recorded for wood from Zwierzyniec Lubelski, and the lowest – for wood from Ramuki. Not all samples showed differences in analysed properties. The smallest differences were found for the provenance

from Kartuzy, due to fact that this provenance differed statistically only from the provenance from Zwierzyniec Lubelski.

Conclusion. The research results provide a ranking list of the best spruce provenances and prove that compressive strength along the grain in spruce trees that share the same habitat depends, among others, on the provenance of the parent populations.