Technical note: impact of fertilization on within-Tree variability in young loblolly pine (Pinus taeda).

Density, ring width, and cell structure were analyzed at different sampling heights and growth ring numbers in a young loblolly pine tree (Pinus taeda) that had received multiple applications of fertilizer. Results indicated that earlywood and latewood tracheid length increased with increment of growth ring number and height, but fertilization did not appear to measurably influence cell length. As tree height increased, density decreased but latewood cell wall thickness increased. During the fertilization period, ring width and earlywood cell diameter increased, whereas density, latewood cell wall thickness, and latewood percentage decreased. Earlywood cell wall thickness did not appear to be influenced by fertilization and did not vary greatly with increment of growth ring number.