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Chemical composition of earlywood and latewood in Norway spruce heartwood, sapwood and transition zone wood

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Abstract

This study focused on the distribution of wood components along a cross section of a spruce stem. Thin samples of earlywood and latewood were analysed by special micro-scale analytical techniques. Heartwood contained significantly more lignin and less cellulose than sapwood. The total content of hemicelluloses was the same along the radial direction, but the distribution of sugar units differed. The amounts of arabinoglucuronoxylan and pectins were larger in the heartwood. The transition zone between heartwood and sapwood had a specific composition, with less lignin and lipophilic extractives than heartwood and sapwood. For earlywood and latewood, significant differences were found in the distribution of sugar units in hemicelluloses. Latewood contained clearly more galactoglucomannan than earlywood, and conversely less pectins. The lipophilic extractives were also less concentrated in the latewood.

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Abbreviations

EW or E:

earlywood

LW or L:

latewood

HW:

heartwood

SW:

sapwood

TZ:

transition zone wood

A.R.:

annual ring

AcBr:

Acetyl bromide

Ara:

arabinose

Xyl:

xylose

Gal:

galactose

Glc:

glucose

Man:

mannose

Rha:

rhamnose

GlcA:

glucuronic acid

MGlcA:

4-O-methyl-glucuronic acid

GalA:

galacturonic acid

o.d.:

oven dry

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank Jarl Hemming and Markku Reunanen for their valuable advice and technical support. This work was a part of the activities of the Åbo Akademi Process Chemistry Centre, a National Centre of Excellence supported by the Academy of Finland.

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  1. Process Chemistry Centre, Laboratory of Wood and Paper Chemistry, Åbo Akademi University, 20500, Turku/ Åbo, Finland

    Frédérique Bertaud & Bjarne Holmbom

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  1. Frédérique Bertaud
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  2. Bjarne Holmbom
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Correspondence to Bjarne Holmbom.

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Bertaud, F., Holmbom, B. Chemical composition of earlywood and latewood in Norway spruce heartwood, sapwood and transition zone wood. Wood Sci Technol 38, 245–256 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-004-0241-9

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