INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACY & LIFE SCIENCES Carbon content in boles of Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.

This study investigated the carbon (C) content in b oles of twenty western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) trees. Bole samples were obtained from southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Conuma River, south of Muchalat Lake, Apple River, and Harris Creek) from a Western Forest Products Inc. management area, during the summer of 2003. Disks (10 centimeters thick) were o btained from the top of live crown (TLC), the base of live crown (BLC), and at breast height (BH) of each tree . By elemental analysis, C content of 20 genotypes had a mean of ~53.5% (w/w), standard error of the mean [SEM] 0.1). Since the variation in each tree was so small, and the SEM for each of the positions within the bole was 0.1 a nd 0.2, we conclude that there was only slight vari ation among genotypes at the 99% level of confidence in the thr ee positions within the bole. Considerable addition al research is needed in order to have accurate estimates of total C content in any tree, and given that there is var iation in C content within tree species, and in order to accoun t for C in any forest stand, total C content should be estimated by integrating each individual tree component.