Effects of Thinning Intensity on Wood Properties of Slash Pine

Wood properties of 19 years old slash pine from four plots subjected different thinning intensity(0%-18.6%-35.7%-52.9%)were determined and analyzed. Results show that thinning intensity had significant or highly significant effects on air dry specific gravity, oven dry specific gravity, radial and volume total shrinkage, shrinkage ratio (tangential to radial direction), compression strength parallel to grain, bending strength, modules of elasticity, radial shearing strength, and the cross section hardness after thinning for 8 years; with the increase of thinning intensity, the width of growth ring and the shrinkage ratio increased, whereas the air dry specific gravity and oven dry specific gravity decreased to certain degree, and the compression strength parallel to grain, bending strength, modules of elasticity, and hardness increased at first and then decreased.