Comparison of wood properties of planted big-leaf Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in Martinique Island with naturally grown mahogany from Brazil, Mexico and Peru

Big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) has been harvested and traded since the 16th century. It is highly valued and is used to craft luxury furniture and items. Its natural populations are found in South and Central America. It has been planted throughout the tropical world and sustainable plantations have existed for many decades in a limited number of areas such as the Caribbean. Wood properties of 24 mahogany plantation trees ( 40 and 40 years old) from Martinique Island were compared with randomly collected data from CIRAD reference collection: 24 trees from natural forest in Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Density of plantation trees was found to be significantly lower compared with natural forest trees. The tangential shrinkage of young trees ( 40 years old) was significantly higher than that of old trees ( 40 years old). Both values were significantly higher than that of natural forest trees. The radial shrinkages of young and old trees were significantly higher than that of natural forest trees. Although the density of natural forest wood was higher than that of plantation trees, the difference in modulus of elasticity (MOE) was insignificant. The static bending strengths (MOR) of young and old trees were significantly lower than that of natural forest trees. The crushing strength in compression parallel to grain of plantation trees was significantly lower than that of natural forest. Mahogany from Martinique Island seems to be a promising tree species for use in joinery and cabinet work.