ESTUDIO PRELIMINAR DE LA CONTRACCIÓN Y EL COLAPSO EN EUCALYPTUS NITENS PRELIMINARY STUDY OF SHRINKAGE AND COLLAPSE IN EUCALYPTUS NITENS

In this study the variation of transversal shrinkage and collapse in Eucalyptus nitens were evaluated. � Fifteentrees,�threeofeachfivedifferentfamilieswerecollectedfromplantationsof��E. nitens 17 years-old, growing in the Eighth Region of Chile. The wood samples of shrinkage and collapse was obtainedfromthefirstlog,�inthreepositionsfromthepithtobarksouth�(core,�transitionandlateral).� Wood samples were prepared and then acclimatized in according to the Chilean Standards. The collapse wasdeterminedbythedifferenceofshrinkagebeforeandafterreconditioning.�Shrinkageunitcoefficients� and the shrinkage intersection points were also determined. The results showed variability radial transversal shrinkage and collapse of between trees and families of E. nitens. The transversal shrinkage and collapse tended to increase with radial position, despite that higher transversal shrinkage and collapse were more intense in the core or transition zones due to lower densities.