FOPESTPY lDEAS, 2011, vo|.

17, No 2 (42)
ICLCGICAL AND WCCD PPCPEPTIES CF AIIANTHUS
AITISSIMA (MILL.) SWINGLE
Panayot Panayotov
1
, Kuncho Ka|mukov
2
, and Momchi| Panayotov
3
1
Facu|ty oI Forest lndustry, University oI Forestry, 10 K|iment Ohridski Bu|v.,
1756 SoIia, Bu|garia. E-mai|. ppanayotov45@abv.bg
2
Experimenta| Station Ior Fast-Croving Forest Species, 18 Nove str., Svishtov,
Bu|garia. E-mai|. kka|mukov@abv.bg
3
Facu|ty oI Forestry, University oI Forestry, 10 K|iment Ohridski Bu|v., 1756
SoIia, Bu|garia.
E-mai|. mp2@abv.bg
UDC 630.12 Peceived. 31 May 2010
Accepted. 19 November 2011
Abstract
We studied the grovth in height, diameter, vo|ume and the most important vood proper-
ties oI 11-year o|d Ai/anthus a/tissima (Mi||.) Sving|e trees grovn at the Pesearch station
Ior Iast-groving species near Svishtov, Bu|garia. We Iound that the height grovth vas
most intensive during the Iirst years vith maximum rate in the 5
th
year. The diameter and
vo|ume grovth vere continuous and by the 11
th
year sti|| had not reached a decrease in
the rate. The vood density at air-dry condition (v=7.5%) vas 620 kg.m
-3
, at abso|ute|y
dry condition (v=0%) vas 580 kg.m
-3
, vhi|e at maxima||y saturated vith vater (density
in rov condition) it vas 1045 kg.m
-3
. The vo|ume shrinkage vas 14.85%. Head hardness,
studied Io||oving Brine| method (in direction para||e| to the grains), vas 83.41 N.mm
-2
, the
hardness in radia| direction vas 61.48 N.mm
-2
and in tangentia| direction 52.03 N.mm
-2
.
The bending strength (MOP) oI air-dry vood vas 71.11 N.mm
-2
. The modu|us oI e|asticity
(MOE) vas 11.906 CPa. The compression strength para||e| to the Iibres vas 55.83 N.mm
-2
.
The shear strength para||e| to the Iibers in tangentia| p|ain vas 14.41 N.mm
-2
, vhi|e in radia|
p|ain vas 13.65 N.mm
-2
. Our resu|ts shov that Ai/anthus a/tissima is underestimated Iast-
groving species, vhose vood can be successIu||y used Ior production oI paper and Iurni-
ture. ThereIore ve consider appropriate a recommendation to start tria|s vith estab|ishment
oI experimenta| p|antation.
Key wcrds: timber properties, density, hardness, bending strength, g|uing strength.
Intrcduct|cn
The native |and oI Ai/anthus a/tissima
is China. The vord "ai|anthus" derives
Irom the Mo|uccan name "ay|anto" and
means "tree-oI-heaven". The vord "a|-
tissima" means very ta|| (Kovarik and
Saume| 2007). Besides the characteris-
tics oI the tree, this a|so reI|ects the very
|ong |eaves, vhich can reach more than
1 m in |ength. lt vas introduced in
Europe in 1751 (in Eng|and) and in
America in 1874 (A|den 1995). ln these
years this tree vas p|anted in parks and
Bio|ogica| and Wood Properties oI Ai/anthus... 123
gardens. Ai/anthus a/tissima is Iast-
groving tree species. ln its Iirst year it
can reach 3 m in height. For the dura-
tion oI their |iIe individua|s can reach
2030 m in height and 0.60.8 m in
diameter (Hu 1979). The trees produce
vide crovn vith thick and sparse|y sit-
uated branches. At ear|y age the bark is
smooth, ye||ovish-gray or brovn-gray
in co|or. At higher age the bark is sha|-
|ov and vith |ongitudina| cracks. The
|eaves are decompound, i.e. the pro-
|onged ova| |eaI b|ades are bi|atera||y
and horizonta||y situated over thin sticks
vith 1 m |ength. The |eaves are rich in
tannins and vhen ground vith Iingers
the Ai/anthus |eaves Iou| odor. The
I|overs have simi|ar odor. The Ai/anthus
tree b|ossoms in June. The I|overs are
sma|| greenish-ye||ov, unisexua| or sy-
noecious, gathered in heavy, straight
broom racemes. The Iruit is a nut vith
one ving|et. The seeds become ripe in
October and spend the vinter on the
tree (Hu 1979, Svearingen 2009). They
are easi|y transported by vind. The spe-
cies reproduces easi|y vegetative|y Irom
root and stem sprouts and generative|y
vith abundant seeds. Characteristic
bio|ogica| Ieature oI Ai/anthus a/tissima
is that the trees Iorm huge quantities
oI root suckers. lts root system is de-
ve|oped in both horizonta| and vertica|
direction (Kovarik and Saume| 2007).
lt sett|es dovn in Ierti|e soi|s, but can
be Iound a|so on poor soi|s. The trees
are a|so to|erant to ca|cium content in
the soi|. Ai/anthus preIers sunny |oca-
tions. lt to|erates sudden temperature
changes. Due to the abi|ity oI the spe-
cies to co|onize rapid|y open territories
and its vide to|erance to soi| conditions,
many tria|s Ior eva|uation oI its poten-
tia| as erosion contro| species vere es-
tab|ished in Bu|garia. OIten the species
disp|ays pioneer character and in some
regions oI the vor|d (inc|uding parts oI
Bu|garia) is considered as "invasive"
(Svearingen 2009). Especia||y in aban-
doned city environment it can quick|y
co|onize vide territories. An important
Ieature that gives Ai/anthus advantage
in this respect is that the tree is a|-
|e|opathic and can |imit the grovth oI
other species by re|easing p|ant toxins
(Lavrence et a|. 1991). Yet, the spe-
cies is sti|| vide|y used as a garden tree
and as economica||y important one.
Among the Ieatures that make it va|u-
ab|e are medica| uses oI the p|ant, use
oI the vood Ior Iurniture production and
energy source, and Ior breeding oI the
moth Samia cynthia Irom vhich va|ua-
b|e "eri si|k" is produced (Hu 1979). The
species is spread in countries a|| over
the vor|d in both varm and temperate
zones. ln Bu|garia Ai/anthus vas intro-
duced probab|y at the end oI 19
th
or at
the beginning oI 20
th
century Ior the
purpose to |ay out city |avns, parks and
gardens. A great amount oI Ai/anthus
trees at the age oI 80 years are pre-
served. They are in good condition vith
diameters Irom 40 to 94 cm. The o|d-
est tree can be seen in SoIia behind the
King`s pa|ace. Probab|y this venerab|e
tree is Irom the period oI the initia| gar-
den p|antings. lts diameter is 116.9 cm
and the height is 18 m. This changes
the Iormer perception that the maxi-
mum age that the species may reach in
Bu|garia is 4050 years (Enchev 1975).
During the second ha|I oI the 20th cen-
tury experimenta| Ai/anthus p|antations
vere estab|ished in the Pesearch sta-
tion Ior Iast-groving species near the
vi||age oI Vardim c|ose to Danube river.
The purpose vas to test the grovth oI
P. Panayotov, K. Ka|mukov, and M. Panayotov 124
this Iast-groving species under contro|-
|ed conditions. Yet, despite initia| data
shoving Iast grovth and high potentia|
Ior production oI vood and biomass, up
to this moment Ai/anthus vas neg|ect-
ed especia||y Irom the point oI viev oI
vood production. The main reason is
the common perception in Bu|garia that
the vood is oI |ov qua|ity and not us-
ab|e Ior practica| purposes. Yet, vood
properties vere studied in other coun-
tries. A study in the Madison |aboratory
(A|den 1995) reported that Ai/anthus
stems have vide core, narrov |ight
grey-reddish heartvood and vide ye|-
|ovish-vhite sapvood (Mos|emi and
Bhagvat 1970). The vood has ring po-
rous structure. Tracheas have big diam-
eter and are arranged in narrov stripe
spring zone, vhich can be seen at the
beginning oI the annua| ring vith a na-
ked eye. The annua| rings are vide, the
|atevood takes 90% oI the ring. ln the
|ongitudina| tangentia| section oI the
stem core rays can be seen vith a na-
ked eye. Their appearance resemb|es
g|ittering brieI stripes. Anatomic sec-
tions revea|ed that core rays are mon-
ostichous and po|ystichous vith brieI
spind|e shape (Enchev 1975). A study oI
vood properties made by A|den (1995)
demonstrated that the speciIic grav-
ity at 12% humidity vas 0.531 g.cm
-
3
and density in air-dry condition vas
537-617 kg.m
-3
. The modu|us oI e|as-
ticity (MOE) during bending unseasoned
vood vas 6.343 CPa and oI dry vood
it vas 10.48 CPa. Modu|us oI rupture
(MOP) or border bending strength oI un-
seasoned vood vas 41.37 MPa and oI
dry vood it vas 81.361 MPa. Pressure
strength para||e| to the Iibers oI unsea-
soned vood vas 16.548 MPa and oI
dry vood it vas 36.268 MPa. Pressure
strength cross to the Iibers oI unsea-
soned vood vas 2.62 MPa and oI dry
vood it vas 7.791 MPa. Shear strength
para||e| to the Iibers oI unseasoned
vood vas 7.239 MPa and oI dry vood
it vas 15.444 MPa (Hoshovsky 1988).
Here ve aim at studying the vood prop-
erties oI Ai/anthus trees grovn under
contro||ed conditions in Bu|garia. Our
purpose vas to obtain data Ior the most
important technica| characteristics and
thus to provide initia| data about the
potentia| oI the species Ior Iast vood
production.
Mater|a| and Metbcds
We used the timber oI 11-years o|d
Ai/anthus tree Irom the seed-garden in
the vi||age oI Vardim. We did annua|
measurements oI the height and di-
ameter oI the tree. At the time it vas
Ie||ed the samp|e tree had diameter
16 cm and height 12.6 m. The stem
vas cut to p|anks vith 60 mm thick-
ness at each meter and they vere |eIt
outdoors covered by she|ter. Thus they
vere subjected to natura| drying under
the inI|uence oI the veathering Iactors
Ior a period oI three years. Then ve
did standard stem ana|ysis measuring
the tree ring increment Ior each p|ank.
From the centra| p|anks ve made sam-
p|es vhich vere used to determine the
most important physica| and mechani-
ca| properties. ln the study ve Io|-
|oved standard procedures according
to the Bu|garian standards and corre-
spondent vith DlN 1052. C|uing prop-
erties oI Ai/anthus vood vere studied
Io||oving regu|ations oI BDS EN 204,
BDS EN 205, BDS EN 301 and BDS
EN 302. C|uing vas done in |abora-
Bio|ogica| and Wood Properties oI Ai/anthus... 125
tory conditions in co|d press vith g|ue
Jovaco| 107 and in hot press (125C)
vith g|ue PreIere 4114. The used spe-
ciIic pressure vas 0.5 MPa. The adhe-
sion strength oI protective decorative
Ii|ms to vood surIace vas examined
according to a method that is regu|ated
in BDS 13088.86 and BDS EN 4624.
Pesu|ts
Tree grcwtb
The height grovth vas most intensive
during the Iirst 4 years. lt reached its
maximum rate in the 5
th
(Fig. 1). The
rate oI diameter increment vas steady
unti| the 8
th
year and then decreased
s|ight|y (Fig. 2).
The diameter grovth at 1.3 m height
vas as Io||ovs. at the 1-st year 0.8
cm; at the 2-nd year 2.5 cm; at the
3
rd
4.1 cm; at the 4
th
5.8 cm; at the
5
th
7.65 cm; at the 6
th
9.55 cm;
at the 7
th
11.6 cm; at the 8
th
13.3
cm; at the 9
th
14.6 cm; at the 10
th

16.3 cm and at the 11
th
17.7 cm
vithout bark (Iig. 2). The curve oI vo|-
ume increment unti| the age oI 11 years
shoved ascending tendency and cu|mi-
nation has not yet been reached (Iig. 3).
Our resu|ts demonstrate that Ai/anthus
is indeed a Iast groving species vith
high accumu|ation oI vood in the Iirst
one to tvo decades oI grovth. The on|y
Iaster groving va|uab|e trees in Bu|garia
are pop|ar cu|tivars, vhich can reach up
to 20 m height at age oI 11 years (data
Ior cu|tivar "l-214" grovn in the same
|ocation).
Wccd rcert|es
During the initia| visua| ana|ysis oI vood
samp|es ve determined that the annua|
rings vere very vide in the Iirst Iive
years. ln that period they vere 1517
mm. ln the next Iev years they vere
s|ight|y narrover (1113 mm). ln |ongi-
F|g. 1. He|gbt grcwtb cI 11-years c|d Ailanthus tree.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Age, years
T
r
e
e

h
e
i
g
h
t
,

m
P. Panayotov, K. Ka|mukov, and M. Panayotov 126
0
0,005
0,01
0,015
0,02
0,025
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Age, years
A
n
n
u
a
l

v
o
l
u
m
e

i
n
c
r
e
m
e
n
t
,

m
.
y
r
current
avarage
tudina| sections the extract substances
in tracheas cou|d be seen vith a naked
eye. They resemb|ed g|ittering ye||ov-
ish-orange crysta|s. The average va|ues
oI the studied physica| and mechani-
ca| properties oI Ai/anthus timber are
shovn in Tab|e 1. ln respect to density
and static hardness it vas estimated
that Ai/anthus timber reIers to the group
vith average density and hardness.
The vood density at air-dry condition
(v=7.5%) vas 620 kg.m
-3
. When the
vood vas in condition vith the high-
est degree oI vater content, the density
F|g. 2. D|ameter grcwtb cI 11-years c|d Ailanthus tree.
0
5
10
15
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Age, years
T
r
e
e

d
i
a
m
e
t
e
r
,

c
m
F|gure 3. Annua| vc|ume |ncrement cI 11-years c|d Ailanthus tree.
A
n
n
u
a
l

v
o
l
u
m
e

i
n
c
r
e
m
e
n
t
,

m
3
.
y
r
-
1
Bio|ogica| and Wood Properties oI Ai/anthus... 127
vas 1045 kg.m
-3
. The density at abso-
|ute|y dry condition (v=0%) vas 580
kg.m
-3
. The conventiona| density vas
485 kg.m
-3
. Head hardness, deIined by
the Yanka method, vas 59.68 N.mm
-
2
. Head hardness, deIined by the Brine|
method, vas 83.41 N.mm
-2
. The cross
radia| hardness, deIined by the Yanka
method, vas 44.07 N.mm
-2
. The cross
radia| hardness, deIined by the Brine|
method, vas 61.48 N.mm
-2
. The cross
tangentia| hardness, deIined by the
Yanka method, vas 54.07 N.mm
-2
. The
cross tangentia| hardness, deIined by
the Brine| method, vas 69.23 N.mm
-2
.
The hardness in tangentia| direction, i.e.
Tab|e 1. Pbys|ca| and mecban|ca| rcert|es cI tbe t|mber cI 11-years c|d Ailanthus tree.
Symbo|. n quantity oI samp|es.
Var|at|cn |ndexes
Nc Prcerty
n
Aver. St.D. Errcr V, % P, %
1 Density in rov condition, kg.m
-3
81 1,045 23.9 2.66 2.3 0.25
2 Density in dry condition, kg.m
-3
81 620 23.5 2.61 3.8 0.42
3 Density in abs.dry condition, kg.m
-3
81 580 21.0 2.33 3.6 0.41
4 Conventiona| density, kg.m
-3
81 485 24.8 2.75 5.1 0.57
5 Water absorption, % 81 115 3.85 0.43 3.3 0.37
6 Tangentia| sve||ing, % 81 12.34 1.89 0.21 15.3 1.70
7 Padia| sve||ing, % 81 6.41 1.45 0.16 22.6 2.51
8 Sve||ing in size, % 81 19.51 2.83 0.31 14.5 1.61
9 Tangentia| shrinkage, % 81 10.82 1.43 0.16 13.2 1.46
10 Padia| shrinkage, % 81 6.12 1.06 0.12 17.3 1.92
11 Shrinkage in size, % 81 17.09 1.45 0.16 8.48 0.94
12 Head hardness-Yanka, N.mm
-2
64 59.68 4.25 0.53 7.12 0.89
13 Padia| hardness-Yanka, N.mm
-2
64 44.07 4.52 0.56 10.2 1.28
14 Tangentia| hardness-Yanka, N.mm
-2
64 54.07 4.73 0.59 8.75 1.09
15 Head hardness-Brine|, N.mm
-2
64 83.41 16.9 2.11 20.3 2.53
16 Padia| hardness-Brine|, N.mm
-2
64 61.48 21.7 2.71 35.3 4.41
17 Tangentia| hardness-Brine|, N.mm
-2
64 69.23 14.2 1.78 20.5 2.56
18
Compression strength para||e| the direction oI
Iibers, N.mm
-2

64 55.83 3.63 0.45 6.5 0.81
19
Tangentia| shear strength para||e| the direction oI
Iibers, N.mm
-2

64 14.41 1.68 0.21 11.6 1.45
20
Padia| shear strength para||e| the direction oI
Iibers, N.mm
-2

64 13.65 2.64 0.33 19.3 2.42
21
Padia| sp|it strength para||e| the direction oI
Iibers, kN.m
-1

64 85.18 17.7 2.21 20.7 2.59
22
Tangentia| sp|it strength para||e| the direction oI
Iibers, kN.m
-1

64 106.4 20.4 2.55 19.2 2.39
23 Static bending strength, N.mm
-2
64 71.11 8.56 1.07 12.1 1.51
24
Modu|us oI e|asticity during static bending,
N.mm
-2

64 11,906 1,873 234 15.7 1.97
P. Panayotov, K. Ka|mukov, and M. Panayotov 128
in radia| section (radia| cross hardness)
had |over va|ues in comparison vith
that in radia| direction. According to this
index the Ai/anthus vood is oI equa|
vorth to va|nut vood, vhich has head
hardness 72 N.mm
-2
and cross hardness
54 N.mm
-2
(Enchev 1975). The com-
pressive strength para||e| to the direction
oI the Ai/anthus Iibers (55.83 N.mm
-2
)
vas |over than that oI oak (Ouercus),
76.2 N.mm
-2
(Enchev 1975). The shear
strength para||e| to the Ai/anthus Iibers
(13.65 N.mm
-2
in radia| p|ane and 14.41
N.mm
-2
in tangentia| p|ane) vas a|most
equa| oI this oI oak-tree. 13.8 N.mm
-2
.
The Ai/anthus vood can sp|it para||e| to
the direction oI the Iibers more diIIicu|t
in tangentia| direction. 106.42 kN.m
-1
,
than in radia| direction. 85.18 kN.m
-1
.
The modu|us oI |inear deIormation dur-
ing static bending oI Ai/anthus timber
(11,906 N.mm
-2
) vas a|most equa| to
that oI va|nut (12,500 N.mm
-2
), but
it vas considerab|y |over than that oI
the oak-tree (16,000 N.mm
-2
) (Enchev
1975). We vou|d |ike to stress the Iact
that both va|nut and oak trees need
much more years to reach the same di-
ameter as the one studied in Ai/anthus
tree.
Tab|e 2. G|u|ng strengtb cI tbe t|mber cI 11-years c|d Ailanthus tree.
Var|at|cn |ndexes |n N.mm
-2
Destruct|cn,
%
Nc Var|ant G|ue n
Aver. St.Dev. Errcr V, % , % W AF
1 PP
PreIere
4114
36 5.01 1.01 0.17 20 3.3 100 -
2 PP
Jovaco|
107
36 4.85 1.15 0.19 24 3.9 90 10
3 A A
PreIere
4114
36 15.24 2.43 0.41 16 2.6 25 75
4 A A
Jovaco|
107
36 13.13 2.83 0.47 22 3.6 10 90
5 A A
Jovaco|
107
36 13.13 2.83 0.47 22 3.6 10 90
7 P P
PreIere
4114
36 16.93 3.08 0.51 18 3.0 20 80
8 P P
Jovaco|
107
36 13.27 3.12 0.52 23 3.9 15 85
Symbo|s. P Pau/cvnia timber; A Ai/anthus timber; C Ouercus timber; A Rcbinia
reudcacacia timber; n quantity oI samp|es; W destruction in vood; AF adhesion de-
struction betveen vood and protective Ii|m.
Bio|ogica| and Wood Properties oI Ai/anthus... 129
The resu|ts disp|ayed in Tab|e 2 demon-
strate that Ai/anthus vood sticks very ve||
vith dispersion po|yvini|acetate g|ues and
vith reactive urea-Iorma|dehyde g|ues.
The g|uing strength oI Ai/anthus vood
vith the reactive g|ue PreIere 4114 vas
15.24 N.mm
-2
and vith the dispersion g|ue
Jovaco| 107 vas 13.13 N.mm
-2
.
The Ai/anthus vood can be var-
nished very ve||. Tab|e 3 shovs the
average va|ues oI adhesion coatings
Iormed vith tvo-component po|y-
urethane system (Pu-683/50B-640)
and the average va|ues oI coatings,
Iormed vith vater-di|uted acry|ic var-
nishes (Aquis). The average va|ues oI
adhesion oI po|yurethane (Pu) coat-
ings ranged Irom 3.84 N.mm
-2
to 6.37
N.mm
-2
. The average va|ues oI adhe-
sion oI acry|ic (AqA) coatings varied
Irom 4.37 N.mm
-2
to 9.75 N.mm
-2
.
The comparative ana|yses proved
that adhesion va|ues depend on the
roughness oI vood surIaces over
vhich the coatings are Iormed. When
roughness oI surIace decreased, the
cohesion oI coatings a|so decreased,
respective|y. For examp|e, series vith
index Pu 40 vith roughness va|ues
5.63 m had adhesion 6.370.21
Tab|e 3. Adbes|cn cI ccats cn tbe t|mber cI 11-years c|d Ailanthus tree.
Symbo|s. Pu tvo-component po|yurethane varnishes (Pu-683/50B-640); AqA
Acry|ic vater di|ute varnishes "Aquis"; P p|aned dovn surIace; 40 surIace, po|ished vith
sandpaper No 40; 80 surIace, po|ished vith sandpaper No 80; 150 surIace, po|ished
vith sandpaper No 150; M
dc
veight oI dry coat; thickness oI the dry coat; P
a
rough-
ness oI vood; WC destruction betveen vood and coating; CM destruction betveen the
coating ant the meta| punch.
Var|at|cn |ndexes |n N.mm
-2
Destruct|cn,%
Index
Pa
m
Mdc
g.m
-2


m
n
Aver St.D. Errcr
V,
%
,
%
WC CM
Pu P 4.56 171 125 30 4.64 1.11 0.20 24 4.3 100
Pu 40 5.63 154 120 30 6.37 1.15 0.21 18 3.3 90 10
Pu 80 4.15 178 130 30 4.35 1.05 0.19 24 4.4 95 5
Pu 150 3.43 196 140 30 3.84 0.83 0.15 22 3.9 100 -
AqA P 4.35 268 210 30 8.76 2.20 0.40 22 4.1 75 25
AqA 40 5.75 266 210 30 9.75 2.06 0.38 19 3.5 95 5
AqA 80 4.05 283 215 30 8.32 2.18 0.39 18 4.7 100
AqA
150
3.25 267 215 30 4.37 1.12 0.20 25 4.6 90 10
P. Panayotov, K. Ka|mukov, and M. Panayotov 130
N.mm
-2
and series vith index Pu 150
vith roughness va|ues 3.43 m had ad-
hesion 3.84 N.mm
-2
. Simi|ar tendency
vas observed vith coatings Iormed
vith acry|ic varnish, but these coatings
had higher adhesion tovards Ai/anthus
vood. For examp|e, series vith index
AqA 40 vith roughness va|ues 5.75
m had adhesion 9.750.38 N.mm
-2
and series vith index AqA 150 vith
roughness va|ues 3.25 m had adhe-
sion 4.37 N.mm
-2
.
Ccnc|us|cns
As a conc|usion ve can state that
Ai/anthus a/tissima is a Iast groving
species vith high qua|ity vood. The
vood oI trees grovn under contro|-
|ed conditions had very good physi-
ca| and mechanica| properties, some
oI vhich vere comparab|e to the very
expensive va|nut vood. ThereIore it
can be used Ior manuIacturing arti-
c|es vith diIIerent Iunctions, inc|ud-
ing Iurniture. Based on our resu|ts ve
can recommend Iurther studies direc-
trd to estab|ishment oI experimenta|
p|antations in diIIerent groving condi-
tions (c|imate and soi|s) and the pos-
sib|e uses oI vood. They vi|| conIirm
vhether Ai/anthus a/tissima can be
successIu||y used as a Iast groving
species Ior quick production oI va|ua-
b|e or energy source vood in Bu|garia.
Yet, strict contro| in the p|antation |o-
cations shou|d be app|ied in order not
to contaminate environmenta||y impor-
tant protection areas, in vhich the in-
vasive character oI Ai/anthus a/tissima
may be a major threat.
Ackncw|edgements
This study vas carried out vithin the
Iramevork oI contract No 44/13.04.2009
vith ScientiIic Pesearch Department oI
University oI Forestry SoIia, Bu|garia.
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