Contracciones y propiedades físicas de Acacia mangium Willd., Tectona grandis L. f. y Terminalia amazonia A. Chev, maderas de plantación en Costa Rica

Based on ASTM standards D 2395-02 and D 143-94, total and normal shrinkage in radial (RS), tangential (TS) and volumetric (VS) directions and the total and normal TS/RS ratio were determined in the plantation woods Acacia mangium Willd., Tectona grandis L.f. and Terminalia amazonia A. Chev. Also, physical properties such as basic specific gravity (BSG), SG_12% and SGovendry, green density (GD) and normal density (ND), fiber saturation point (FSP) and moisture content (MC) were determined. Some classification criteria, proposed by other researchers, were used to categorize the dimensional stability and physical properties of these species. Significant differences were found among the species for total RS, TS, VS and TS_total/RStotal, as well as for the physical properties BSG and FSP. The TS_total/RStotal ratio indicated that T. grandis has better dimensional stability. The linear regression (R²= 0.7769) indicated that FSP is a good indicator of VStotal magnitude. The plantation species of this study compared with those of the natural forest have similar dimensional stability but lower BSG.