Caracterización de la madera de cuatro especies forestales comerciales en la parroquia Tiputini, cantón Aguarico, provincia Orellana.

Abstract

The research aimed to characterize the wood of four commercial forest species in Tiputini town, Aguarico city, Orellana province. For the dendrological description of the four species, samples of leaves, flowers, fruits, and bark were collected and identified in the herbarium of the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo. For the study of the microscopic characteristics, 2 cm cubes were used, placed in containers of glass sealed with aluminum foil, and softened in the autoclave. The time was based on the density of each species; then cuts were made in the three planes: transversal, tangential and radial. The slides were immersed in safranin, Astra blue, and a 1:1 mixture of safranin and Astra blue dyes for 10, 20, and 30 seconds. The observations with the microscope where the morphology, quantity, and size of pores are visualized; while for the macroscopic characteristics of the wood, a sample of 2 x 9 x15 cm is sized, which were used to determine the characteristics such as the color of the sapwood, smell, flavor, texture, grain, and veining. The weight of a cube was measured with the digital scale to calculate its density. Fine sawdust was also used and mixed with distilled water to determine the pH of each species. The observations of the characteristics were done using the senses except for the color that the table of Munsell is used. The detailed macroscopic characteristics of the four species under study present differences in the color of both the sapwood and the heartwood, texture, and veining, except for Ochroma pyramidale, which presents a crisscross grain, the other species present an identical grain. It is recommended to carry out a phenological study to identify the species for future studies.