European beech potential for agricultural land afforestation: an anatomical and wood quality perspective

The European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is one of the most economically and ecologically important deciduous tree species in Europe. However, there is a lack of scientific knowledge regarding quality of wood growing on former agricultural land exists in the case of European beech. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the wood properties of European beech growing on former agricultural land compared to standard forest stands in north-western Poland. In total 2457 specimens were tested in mechanical strength and around 1000 for dimensions of micro and macrostructural wood elements. In the case of the most important parameter – the wood density, no significant differences were found between values observed in standard forest land (0.722 g/cm3) and afforested farmland (0.701 g/cm3). Land use did not significantly influence MOR nor MOE. However, higher values for these parameters were observed on forest land. The annual ring width was significantly wider on trees that grew on former agricultural land. The high variability with significant differences was obtained within the dimensions of vessels and fibers. The presented results have confirmed that European beech species is highly suitable for former agricultural land afforestation with high-quality wood production. These findings challenge the assumption that wood on afforested agricultural land has worse quality and support its viability for industrial purposes.