Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a species widely distributed across the Eurasian continent. In Poland, it is the dominant forest species, currently covering 58.8% of the total forest area, with a standing timber volume of 1.650 million m³ (Gus, 2023). As the global shift toward sustainable and environmentally friendly building practices accelerates, understanding its mechanical and physical properties—such as density, modulus of elasticity (MOE), and modulus of rupture (MOR)—is crucial for quality control (EN 338:2016, EN 1912:2024) and suitability for structural applications in green building. Although many studies have addressed the general mechanical properties of Scots pine (Mederski et al., 2015; Krzosek et al., 2020; Kozakiewicz et al., 2020; Regino et al., 2022), they often neglect the impact of genetic variability between different populations, or they are conducted under varying environmental conditions that obscure the role of provenance. Currently, the amount of comprehensive, long-term research that evaluates the mechanical performance of Scots pine wood from different provenances grown under uniform conditions, where genetic factors can be reliably isolated, is limited (Konofalska et al., 2021). This study addresses that gap by analysing MOE and MOR values of Scots pine trees originating from 3 natural populations in Poland, all grown under identical site and climatic conditions on an experimental plot established in 1966. By linking mechanical performance with origin, this research identifies populations with higher structural potential and contributes to more informed material selection in sustainable construction. Key technical terms used throughout the paper include: modulus of elasticity (MOE), which reflects wood stiffness and resistance to elastic deformation; modulus of rupture (MOR), indicating the wood’s strength at failure in bending; and provenance, referring to the geographic and genetic origin of the tree population studied.
Keywords: modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, provenance, Pinus sylvestris L.
Authors
Monika Sołoniewicz
Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Institute of Wood Sciences and Furniture
Agnieszka Jankowska
Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Institute of Wood Sciences and Furniture
Paweł Kozakiewicz
Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Institute of Wood Sciences and Furniture
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