The velocity of sound wave propagation in the outer wood of standing trees was used to predict lumber stiffness of loblolly pine plantations. The trees with the potential of producing lumber with high and low stiffness can be identified by sound wave velocity alone; the upper 15% and the lower quartile of the population can be sorted by high and low velocity, respectively. However, the trees with medium velocity may yield lumber with high, medium, or low stiffness. The velocity of sound may over- and under-estimate lumber stiffness of trees with narrow and wide outer wood ring width patterns respectively. For logs with the same velocity, the lumber stiffness from the butt log is higher than the upper logs. The velocity of sound wave propagation is a useful tool for predicting lumber stiffness of standing plantation grown loblolly pine trees.
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