Variation in Basic Wood Density and Percentage Heartwood in Temperate Australian Acacia Species (Report‪)‬

Introduction Acacias that grow naturally in the cooler and often moister parts of eastern and south-eastern Australia are referred to as 'temperate' acacias in this paper. Some of these temperate acacias are used for a range of commercial wood purposes; from firewood to charcoal, paper, panels and high quality furniture. Descriptions of their wood densities and heartwood characteristics and how these change with tree age, within the tree and with growth conditions are generally limited or unavailable. Even for Acacia mearnsii (black wattle), grown extensively in commercial plantations in several countries for more than a century, basic densities are invariably reported for trees of unspecified age. These reports differ significantly, for example 630 kg [m.sup.-3] (Bootle 1983), 530-598 kg m (Hillis 1997) and 550-850 kg m (Dobson and Feely 2002).