Effect of growth on wood properties for Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi): Differences of annual ring structure between corewood and outerwood

To investigate the relations between growth and the wood properties of Japa nese larch (Larix kaempferi), six sample trees of varied ages and radial gr owth were felled and the ring width, ring density, percentage of latewood, and some other factors were determined. There were significant differences in ring density and percentage of latewood between sample trees with vigoro us growth and those with poor growth. In corewood the ring density decrease d with increasing ring width for all sample trees, whereas in outerwood thi s trend did not appear. Moreover, the latewood width increased with the inc rement of ring width only in outerwood, whereas there was almost no change in the corewood, The variation in patterns of ring width, ring density, and percentage of latewood in the radial direction and the relation with heigh t was also studied.