Phenotypic Variation Of Wood Properties In Salix Suchowensis

we measured the basic density and chemical compositions of Salix suchowensis, includingcontent of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Statistics method were used to analysis thedetermination data, such as variance analysis, correlation analysis and so on. The researchclarified the variation pattern of wood basic density and main chemical compositions andprovided phenotype data for quantitative trait loci analysis. The data obtained in the currentstudies were described as follows:Statistical analyses showed that the average content of cellulose, hemicellulose and ligninwere53.19%,19.80%and14.20%respectively and their variation ranges were47.91%～57.00%,12.28%～16.43%, and16.52%～23.76%respectively. The basic wood density was0.3926g/cm3,ranging from0.2416g/cm3to0.5044g/cm3. We also analyzed distribution of the phenotypic dataof the above traits by Anderson-Darling test, and did normality transformation via BOX-COXfunction. All phenotypic data fit or could be transformed into normal distribution. Therefore,these traits are appropriated for quantitative trait loci analysis.Correlation analysis among the above traits showed that the hemicellulose content wasnegatively correlated with cellulose and lignin contents, whereas the wood basic density waspositively correlated with the cellulose content, and was negatively correlated with thehemicellulose content.Slight difference of wood basic density and main chemical compositions can be ovservedalone the longitudinal direction of the Salix suchowensis. Contents of cellulose and hemicellulosedecreased with the height of the trunk. On the other hand, the content of lignin was lower in themiddle section while it went up alone the top and bottom of the tree. The maximum value oflignin appearing at the top of the Salix suchowensis. It is also shown in our studies that woodbasic density decreased with the height of the trunk. variance analysis showed that: Thedifferences of the main chemical compositions and wood basic density are not statisticallysignificant along the tree stem.