23 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THREE WILD ALMOND WOOD SPECIES 
GROWN IN ZAGROS FORESTS
FIZIKALNE IN KEMIJSKE LASTNOSTI LESA TREH DIVJIH VRST MANDLJEVCA, KI 
RASTEJO V GOZDOVIH ZAGROSA
Leila Fathi
1*
, Redžo Hasanagić
2
, Yaghoob Iranmanesh
3
, Mohammad Dahmardeh Ghalehno
4
, 
Miha Humar
5
, Mohsen Bahmani
1
UDK 630*812:634.55 Received / Prispelo: 7. 3. 2022 
Original scientific article / Izvirni znanstveni članek Accepted / Sprejeto: 4. 5. 2022
 . Abstract / Izvleč ek  
Abstract: In this study, the physical properties (oven-dry density, basic density, volumetric shrinkage, and swelling) 
and structural components (cellulose, lignin, and extractives content) of three wild almond wood species from 
southwestern Iran, namely Amygdalus arabica, Amygdalus eburna, and Amygdalus scoparia, were investigated. Wild 
almond is a valuable wood species in the Zagros forests of Iran, but there is a lack of data on their wood properties. 
Three adult trees of each species were chosen, and samples were prepared from the breast height diameter to 
measure the focal properties. Results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the wood species had a significant 
effect on the wood density and volumetric shrinkage. Maximum oven-dry density and volumetric shrinkage of wood 
were identified in Amygdalus scoparia. The highest and lowest content of structural components were found in 
Amygdalus scoparia and Amygdalus arabica wood species, respectively. A deep understanding of the almond wood 
characteristics will provide a fresh insight into the relationship between the properties and conservation of these 
special, as well as applications of their wood.
Keywords: Amygdalus, wood, density, volume shrinkage, cellulose, lignin, Zagros, Iran
Izvleček: V študiji so bile raziskane fizikalne lastnosti (gostota, osnovna gostota, prostorninsko krčenje in nabrekanje) 
in kemijska sestava (celuloza, lignin in ekstraktivne snovi) lesa treh divjih vrst mandljev, in sicer Amygdalus arabica, 
Amygdalus eburna in Amygdalus scoparia iz jugozahodnega Irana. Divji mandelj je dragocena drevesna vrsta v 
gozdovih Zagrosa v Iranu, podatki o lastnostih lesa pa so pomanjkljivi. Izbrana so bila tri sestojna drevesa vsake 
vrste, za merjenje omenjenih lastnosti pa so bili pripravljeni vzorci iz nivoja v prsni višini. Rezultati analize variance 
(ANOVA) so pokazali, da vrsta pomembno vpliva na gostoto lesa in prostorninsko krčenje. Največje vrednosti gostote 
absolutno suhega lesa in prostorninskega skrčka so bile ugotovljene pri vrsti Amygdalus scoparia. Najvišje in najnižje 
vsebnosti kemijskih komponent pa so bile ugotovljene pri lesnih vrstah Amygdalus scoparia in Amygdalus arabica. 
Poglobljeno razumevanje značilnosti mandljevega lesa bo omogočilo nov vpogled v povezavo med lastnostmi in 
ohranjanjem ter uporabo lesa raziskanih vrst.
Ključne besede: Amygdalus, les, gostota, prostorninsko krčenje, celuloza, lignin, Zagros, Iran
 
1 INTRODUCTION
1 UVOD
Almond species grow with a large geographi-
cal distribution from the southwest to the centre of 
Asia (Gradziel, 2011). Iran is thought to be the cen-
tre of the origin and growth of almonds (Zohary & 
Hopf, 2000). As such, Iran is an important region for 
the world almond gene pool and the distribution of 
wild almond species due to its suitable climate (Bal-
vardi et al., 2015; Nikoumanesh et al., 2011). Twen-
Vol. 71, No. 1, 23-30
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26614/les-wood.2022.v71n01a03
 
1
 Department of Natural Resources and Earth Science, 
Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
2
 Department of Wood Science and Technology, Faculty of 
Technical Engineering, University of Bihać, Bihać, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina
3
 Research Division of Natural Resources, Charmahal and 
Bakhtiari Agriculture and Natural Resources and Education 
Center, AREEO, Iran
4
 Department of Wood and Paper Sciences and Technology, 
University of Zabul, Zabol, Iran
5
 Department of Wood Science, Biotechnical Faculty, 
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
* e-mail: leila.fathi@sku.ac.ir

24 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
Fathi, L., Hasanagić, R., Iranmanesh, Y ., Ghalehno, M. D., Humar, M., & Bahmani, M.: Fizikalne in kemijske lastnosti
lesa treh divjih vrst mandljevca, ki rastejo v gozdovih Zagrosa
 
ty-one wild species and seven inter-specific hy-
brids have been identified and reported in Iran, of 
which ten are supposed to be endemic (Khatamsaz, 
1998). Zagros forests represent about 40% of Irani-
an forests and are the most extensive forest area 
(Sagheb-Talebi et al., 2004). Almonds are decid-
uous shrubs and small trees adapted to arid or 
semi-arid environments. They exist as a relatively 
pure and dominant stand or scattered between 
600 to 2200 meters above sea level. This plant is a 
shrub with a height of 2 m that sometimes reaches 
a height of 6 m and a stem diameter of 5-20 cm.
Most studies regarding almond tree species 
are related to their distribution, ecological re-
quirements, and morphological properties, while 
wood properties such as the physical and chemi-
cal properties have not been reported yet. Funda-
mental studies in these cases can reveal the pos-
sibility of the wood’s use in various applications 
or lead to creating a database of different wood 
species (Bahmani et al., 2020; Dong et al., 2021). 
Kiaei and Samariha (2011) investigated the physical 
properties of five important hardwood plants from 
the forests of north Iran and found that the high-
est wood density was determined for hornbeam, 
beech, ash, and oak. Most studies regarding Zagros 
forest wood species are related to their distribu-
tion and ecological factors, and few have examined 
the wood properties. For example, Bahmani et al. 
(2018) investigated oak wood’s physical and chemi-
cal properties in Zagros forests. They found that the 
density of the Persian oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) 
is between 0.85 g·cm
-3
 and 1.01 g·cm
-3
, and volu-
metric shrinkage ranges from 11.32% to 14.15%. 
Moreover, their results indicated that the cellulose 
content increased with increasing diameter, and 
the lignin content decreased. Nazari et al. (2020) 
studied the geographic variations of wood density 
and fibre dimensions of Persian oak wood, and re-
ported a significant statistical effect of altitude and 
slope on the volumetric swelling of this material. In 
another study by Nazari et al. (2021), the influence 
of site conditions on the physical and morpholog-
ical properties of hawthorn (Crataegus azarolus) 
wood grown in the Zagros forests of Iran was inves-
tigated. They reported that there were statistically 
significant differences in the oven-dry density of 
hawthorn wood at various altitudes, while no sig-
nificant differences were found between the values 
of volumetric shrinkage. Understanding the proper-
ties of almond wood is important for utilizing wood 
resources. To the best of our knowledge, there are 
no published studies relevant to the properties of 
wild almond wood. Considering the valuable po-
sition of these wood species in the Zagros forests 
of Iran, this study aims to investigate the physical 
properties, including dry-density, basic density, vol-
umetric shrinkage and swelling, and chemical com-
ponents (cellulose, lignin, extractives, and ash) of 
three wild almond wood species.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2 MATERIALI IN METODE
2.1 MATERIALS
2.1 MATERIALI
This research was done on three wild almond 
wood species – desert almond (Amygdalus arabi-
ca; H=2.58 m, DBH=6 cm), grey almond (Amygdalus 
eburna; H=2.45 m, DBH=7.5 cm), and mountain al-
mond (Amygdalus scoparia; H=2.00m, DBH=4.7cm), 
which were all cut from natural forests in Karebass 
and choliche-Charmahal and Bakhtiari province in 
the southwest of Iran. The research area is locat-
ed between 31°31′36″ N and 31°33′55″ N and be-
tween 51°1920″ E and 51°12′15″. Disks from each 
sampled tree were cut at breast height. The annu-
al rainfall and annual average temperatures were 
555 mm and 16.7 °C, respectively. December and 
November are high-rain months and June and July 
are low-rain months. The temperature reaches its 
maximum level in June, July and August. The alti-
tude of this site was 1580 m.
2.2 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
2.2 FIZIKALNE LASTNOSTI
Discs, 5 cm in thickness, were taken from logs 
to determine physical properties such as oven-dry 
density, basic density, volumetric shrinkage, and 
volumetric swelling. Determination of wood densi-
ty was carried out based on the ISO-3131 (2016) 
standard. For determining the physical proper-
ties, testing samples were obtained following 
ASTM-D143 (2000) and used for measuring the ov-
en-dry and basic density, volumetric swelling and 
volumetric shrinkage. For this propose, thirty sam-
ples were prepared from different parts of the disks 
(10 samples from each disk) with the dimensions of 

25 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
Fathi, L., Hasanagić, R., Iranmanesh, Y ., Ghalehno, M. D., Humar, M., & Bahmani, M.: Physical and chemical properties
of three wild almond wood species grown in Zagros forests
 
30 × 20 × 20 mm³ (tangential × radial × longitudinal). 
The samples were oven dried at 103 °C to reach a 
constant weight. Dimensions and dry weight were 
then measured, with the former Measured in all 
three principal directions with a digital caliper to 
the nearest 0.001 mm. The digital balance used for 
the measurement had an accuracy of 0.01 g. After-
wards the samples were immersed in water (one 
week) and the weight and dimensions of the sam-
ples were re-measured.
The physical properties of the samples were 
calculated using the following equations:
ρ
0
 =m
0
 /V
0
R = m
0
 /V
s
α
v
 = (V
g
 – V
0
)/V
0
β
v
 = (V
g
 – V
0
)/V
s
where: ρ
0
 is oven dry density (g·cm
-3
),
R is basic density (g·cm
-3
),
β- volumetric shrinkage (%),
α is volumetric swelling (%),
V
g
- volume in green state (g·cm
-3
),
V
0
 - volume in oven-dry state (g·cm
-3
),
m
0
 - weight in oven-dry state (g),
m
g 
- weight in green state.
2.3 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
2.3 KEMIJSKE LASTNOSTI
The chemical components were determined 
according to the TAPPI Tests Methods: Cellulose 
(T 257 om-85), lignin (T 222 om-98), extractives 
(T 204 om-88) (Table 1). The cellulose content of 
almond wood was determined according to the ni-
tric acid method (Rowell et al., 1997). All measure-
ments were repeated three times, and the mean 
value was used.
2.4 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
2.4 STATISTIČNE ANALIZE
To determine the physical properties (dry-den-
sity, basic density, volumetric shrinkage, and swell-
ing) and chemical components (cellulose, lignin, 
extractives, and ash), statistical analysis was con-
ducted using the SPPS 23 (IBM, Armonk, NY , USA) 
program in conjunction with the analysis of vari-
ance (ANOVA). Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT 
was used to test the statistical significance at the 
α = 0.05 level. All data were checked for normality 
with a Shapiro–Wilk’s test.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3 REZULTATI IN DISKUSIJA
3.1 MACROSCOPIC CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD
3.1 MAKROSKOPSKA ZGRADBA LESA
The wood has a yellow to light brown colour 
with dark heartwood. Cross-sections indicate a 
semi-ring-porous distribution of vessels (Figure 1a, 
b, c). The presence of the vessels can be seen in all 
of the wood species investigated. As can be found 
from in literature (Allué et al., 2018), ray cells are 
uniseriate to 3- and 7-seriate depending on the 
species. Vessels show spiral thickenings with sim-
ple perforation plates. As seen on cross-sections, 
the wood is characterized by relatively wide annual 
rings, with clearly visible growth ring borders (Fig-
ure 1a, b, c). An attractive macroscopic appearance 
has made almond wood an excellent choice for 
furniture production in the past (Britannica Online 
Encyclopaedia, 2022). Due to the small dimensions 
of the trees, however, furniture applications are 
rare nowadays. The wood is now mainly used for 
high-quality end products such as knife handles, 
pencils, souvenirs and decorative boxes.
Chemical components Standard Description
Cellulose (%) Pettersen (1984) Concentrated nitric acid
Lignin (%) T 222 om-98 Sulfuric acid 72%
Extractives (%) T 222 om-88 Alcohol / acetone
Table 1. Applied methods for measuring the structural components of wood
Preglednica 1. Metode, uporabljene za določitev kemijske zgradbe lesa

26 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
Fathi, L., Hasanagić, R., Iranmanesh, Y ., Ghalehno, M. D., Humar, M., & Bahmani, M.: Fizikalne in kemijske lastnosti
lesa treh divjih vrst mandljevca, ki rastejo v gozdovih Zagrosa
 
a
Cross-section / Prečni prerez Radial section / Radialni prerez Tangential section / 
Tangencialni prerez
b
Cross-section / Prečni prerez Radial section / Radialni prerez Tangential section / 
Tangencialni prerez
c
Cross-section / Prečni prerez Radial section / Radialni prerez Tangential section / 
Tangencialni prerez
Figure 1. Macroscopic appearence of wild almond wood species: (a) Amygdalus arabica, (b) Amygdalus 
eburna, (c) Amygdalus scoparia
Slika 1. Prerezi lesa divjih mandljevcev (a) Amygdalus arabica, (b) Amygdalus eburna, (c) Amygdalus scoparia

27 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
Fathi, L., Hasanagić, R., Iranmanesh, Y ., Ghalehno, M. D., Humar, M., & Bahmani, M.: Physical and chemical properties
of three wild almond wood species grown in Zagros forests
 
3.2 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
3.2 FIZIKALNE LASTNOSTI
The oven-dry density and basic density val-
ues for the three wild almond species – Amygda-
lus arabica (0.92 g·cm
-3
; 0.79 g·cm
-3
), Amygdalus 
eburna (0.91 g·cm
-3
; 0.78 g·cm
-3
), and Amygdalus 
scoparia (0.96 g·cm
-3
; 0.93 g·cm
-3
) – are given in 
Table 2. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed 
a significant difference between species regarding 
oven-dry density and basic wood density. The high-
est and lowest oven-dry density and basic density 
were found in Amygdalus scoparia and Amygda-
lus arabica wood, respectively. It is reported that 
there are several factors affecting the density of 
the wood, such as anatomical properties, e.g. ves-
sel and fibre morphology, provenance, moisture 
content, and chemical composition (Wagenführ 
& Scheiber, 1995; Pásztory et al., 2014; Zeidler & 
Borůvka, 2016; Bahmani et al., 2020). Wood den-
sity classification is grouped according to Wong 
(2002): light (<0.5 g·cm
-3
), moderately dense (be-
tween 0.5–0.8 g·cm
-3
), including the almond wood 
species examined in this study, heavy (between 
0.8–1.0 g·cm
-3
), very dense >1.0 g·cm
-3
).
The values of oven-dry density and basic densi-
ty obtained in this study for the three species of al-
mond were lower than those of other hardwoods, 
such as Persian oak and hawthorn growing in the 
Zagros forests, as reported by Bahmani et al. (2018) 
and Nazari et al. (2021). From the ANOVA test, there 
is a significant difference between wood species 
and volumetric shrinkage and volumetric swelling. 
Maximum and minimum volumetric shrinkage and 
swelling were identified in Amygdalus scoparia and 
Amygdalus arabica, respectively. As is well known, 
the relationship between wood density and vol-
umetric shrinkage is positive (Sousa et al., 2018). 
Wood density is generally variable and is related 
to many factors such as anatomical characteristics, 
e.g., vessel and fibre morphology, ecological site, 
moisture content and chemical constitutes. Fibres 
are the most important elements affecting wood 
density, followed by vessels, as (for instance) re-
ported by Kiaei (2012) for Carpinus betulus.
3.3 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
3.3 KEMIJSKA ZGRADBA
Table 3 illustrates the mean values of the 
chemical constituents of the three wood species of 
almond.
The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed sig-
nificant differences between the tested species 
and the chemical components they contain. The 
highest and lowest content of cellulose, lignin and 
extractives were found in Amygdalus scoparia and 
Amygdalus arabica wood, respectively Such differ-
ences could be related to site, growth conditions 
and forest management practices (Zobel & Buijte-
nen, 1989; Bahmani et al., 2018). On average, hard-
wood comprises 40-45% cellulose, 17-25% lignin, 
and less than 10% extractives. Overall, the cellulose 
lignin content of Amygdalus scoparia is higher than 
the average of most hardwoods, whereas the lignin 
content does not differ significantly.
Wood species / 
Lesna vrsta
Oven-dry density / 
Gostota lesa
(g·cm
-3
)
Basic density / 
Osnovna gostota
(g·cm
-3
)
Volumetric shrinkage / 
Prostorninski skrček
(%)
Volumetric swelling / 
Prostorninski nabrek
(%)
Amygdalus arabica
0.92a
(0.07)
0.79a
(0.09)
0.10a
(0.05)
0.11a
(0.06)
Amygdalus eburna
0.91a
(0.06)
0.78a
(0.06)
0.12a
(0.08)
0.14a
(0.01)
Amygdalus scoparia
0.96b
(0.02)
0.93b
(0.01)
0.14b
(0.02)
0.16b
(0.02)
Table 2. The average values of physical properties in the three studied species. Standard deviations are 
given in the parenthesis. The different letters indicate a different statistical group.
Preglednica 2. Povprečne vrednosti fizikalnih lastnosti preučevanih vrst lesa. V oklepajih so podani standar-
dni odkloni. Različne črke označujejo različne statistične skupine.

28 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
Fathi, L., Hasanagić, R., Iranmanesh, Y ., Ghalehno, M. D., Humar, M., & Bahmani, M.: Fizikalne in kemijske lastnosti
lesa treh divjih vrst mandljevca, ki rastejo v gozdovih Zagrosa
 
4 CONCLUSIONS
4 SKLEPI
Wild almonds are valuable tree species in Ira-
nian Zagros forests, although there is limited data 
on their wood properties. As such, in this study the 
wood properties of three wild almond species were 
examined. The results indicated that the studied 
wood is moderately heavy with a density between 
0.91 g·cm
-3
 to 96 g·cm
-3
 and can be classified into 
moderate-volumetric swelling species. In addition, 
the cellulose content (39.92-49.83 %), lignin con-
tent (17.96-25.71 %), and extractive content (3.89-
5.12 %) were determined. Considering the valua-
ble position of tree wood species in Zagros forests, 
the results obtained in this study can provide basic 
information about the conservation and rehabilita-
tion of almond wood. Further studies will address 
other properties such as the fibre dimensions and 
natural durability of wild almond wood against fun-
gi, moulds, insects, and termites.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ZAHVALA
We are grateful for financial support from 
Shahrekord University and the University of Zabol 
(Grant IR-UOZGR-5071).
5 SUMMARY
5 POVZETEK
Divji mandelj je dragocena lesna vrsta v gozdo-
vih Zagrosa v Iranu, podatki o lastnostih lesa pa so 
pomanjkljivi. Različne vrste mandljev so geografsko 
razširjene od jugozahoda do osrednje Azije (Grad-
ziel, 2011). Iran naj bi bil središče izvora mandljev 
(Zohary & Hopf, 2000) in je zaradi primernega pod-
nebja pomembna regija za svetovni genski sklad 
in razširjenost divjih vrst mandljev (Balvardi et al., 
2015; Nikoumanesh et al., 2011). Mandlji so listo-
padni grmi in majhna drevesa, prilagojena na sušna 
ali polsušna okolja. Večina študij mandljev se nana-
ša na njihovo razširjenost, ekološke zahteve, mor-
fološke lastnosti, o lastnostih lesa, kot so fizikalne 
in kemijske lastnosti, pa še niso poročali. Temelj-
ne raziskave bi lahko ovrednotile možnost njihove 
uporabe in omogočile oblikovanje podatkovne zbir-
ke različnih vrst lesa (Bahmani et al., 2020; Dong 
et al., 2021). Bahmani et al. (2018) so raziskovali 
fizikalne in kemijske lastnosti hrastovega lesa v goz-
dovih Zagrosa. V literaturi ni podatkov o lastnostih 
lesa divjega mandlja, zato je namen te študije raz-
iskati fizikalne in kemijske lastnosti treh divjih vrst 
mandljev Amygdalus arabica, Amygdalus eburna in 
Amygdalus scoparia. Les je bil posekan v naravnih 
gozdovih v provincah Karebass, Choliche-Charma-
hal in Bakhtiari na jugozahodu Irana. Raziskovalno 
območje se nahaja med 31°31′36″ S in 31°33′55″ S 
ter med 51°1920″ V in 51°12′15″.
Iz hlodov so bili odvzeti 5 cm debeli diski za do-
ločanje fizikalnih lastnosti, kot so gostota absolutno 
suhega lesa, osnovna gostota, ter prostorninsko kr-
čenje in nabrekanje. Gostota lesa je bila določena 
na podlagi standarda ISO-3131 (2016). Za določanje 
fizikalnih lastnosti so bili po standardu ASTM-D143 
(2000) pridobljeni preskusni vzorci z dimenzijami 
2 × 2 × 2 cm³, ki so bili uporabljeni za merjenje go-
stote absolutno suhega lesa in osnovne gostote ter 
prostorninskega krčenja.
Kemične sestavine so bile določene v skladu s 
preskusnimi metodami TAPPI: Celuloza (T 257 cm-
85), lignin (T 222 om-98), pepel (T 211 om-93) in 
Wood species Cellulose (%) Lignin (%) Extractives (%)
Amygdalus arabica
39.92a
(2.86)
17.96a
(1.6)
3.89a
(0.6)
Amygdalus eburna
43.18a
(3.13)
18.52a
(1.8)
4.01a
(0.7)
Amygdalus scoparia
49. 83b
(4.18)
25.71b
(2.10)
5.12b
(0.9)
Table 3. The average chemical composition in the three studied species. Standard deviations are given in 
parentheses. The different letters indicate different statistical groups.
Preglednica 3. Povprečna kemijska sestava preučevanih lesnih vrst. V oklepajih so podani standardni odklo-
ni. Različne črke označujejo različne statistične skupine.

29 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 1, June 2022
Fathi, L., Hasanagić, R., Iranmanesh, Y ., Ghalehno, M. D., Humar, M., & Bahmani, M.: Physical and chemical properties
of three wild almond wood species grown in Zagros forests
 
topnost v alkohol-acetonu (T 204 cm-88). Vsebnost 
celuloze v mandljevem lesu je bila določena po me-
todi z dušikovo kislino (Rowell et al., 1997). Vse me-
ritve so bile ponovljene trikrat, uporabljena pa je 
bila povprečna vrednost.
Za ugotavljanje razlik med vrstami mandljev-
ca z vidika fizikalnih in kemijskih lastnosti je bila 
opravljena statistična analiza variance (ANOVA) 
s programom SPPS 23 (IBM, Armonk, NY , ZDA). 
Za preverjanje statistične značilnosti na ravni α = 
0,05 je bil uporabljen Duncanov test več razponov 
(DMRT).
Les je rumene do svetlo rjave barve s temno 
jedrovino. Prečni prerezi kažejo na (pol)venčasto 
porozno razporeditev trahej (slika 1a, b, c). Kot je 
mogoče razbrati iz literature (Allué et al., 2018), so 
trakovi 1-3 in 7-redni, odvisno od posamezne vrste. 
Traheje imajo spiralne odebelitve in enostavne per-
forirane ploščice. Kot je razvidno iz prečnih prere-
zov, so za les značilne razmeroma široke branike 
z jasno vidnimi mejami (slika 1a, b, c). Zaradi de-
korativne teksture je bil mandljev les v preteklosti 
zaželen za izdelavo pohištva (Spletna enciklopedija 
Britannica, 2022). Zaradi manjših dimenzij dreves je 
danes uporaba za pohištvo redka. Les se večinoma 
uporablja za izdelke višjega cenovnega razreda, kot 
so ročaji nožev, svinčniki, spominki in okrasne ška-
tle.
Vrednosti gostote absolutno suhega lesa 
in osnovne gostote so: Amygdalus arabica 
(0,92 g·cm
-3
; 0,79 g·cm
-3
), Amygdalus eburna 
(0,91 g·cm
-3
; 0,78 g·cm
-3
) in Amygdalus scoparia 
(0,96 g·cm
-3
; 0,93 g·cm
-3
) (Tabela 1). Analiza varian-
ce (ANOVA) je pokazala značilno razliko med vrsta-
mi za obe gostoti. Najvišja in najnižja gostota je bila 
ugotovljena pri lesu Amygdalus scoparia oziroma 
Amygdalus arabica.
Iz testa ANOVA je razvidna pomembna razli-
ka med vrstami lesa v prostorninskem krčenju in 
nabrekanju. Največje in najmanjše prostorninsko 
krčenje in nabrekanje je bilo ugotovljeno pri vrstah 
Amygdalus scoparia in Amygdalus arabica.
Analiza variance (ANOVA) je pokazala po-
membno razliko med vrstami in kemijskimi kom-
ponentami. Največja vsebnost celuloze, lignina in 
ekstraktivov je bila ugotovljena v lesu Amygdalus 
scoparia in najmanjša pri Amygdalus arabica. Raz-
like bi lahko bile povezane z rastiščem, pogoji rasti 
in praksami gospodarjenja z gozdom (Zobel & Buij-
tenen, 1989; Bahmani et al., 2018). V povprečju les 
listavcev vsebuje 40-45 % celuloze, 17-25 % lignina 
in manj kot 10 % ekstraktivnih snovi. Na splošno je 
vsebnost celuloze in lignina v drevesu Amygdalus 
scoparia višja od povprečja večine listavcev, med-
tem ko se vsebnost lignina bistveno ne razlikuje.
Rezultati so pokazali, da so preučevane vrste 
lesa srednje goste, z gostoto med 0,91 g·cm
-3
 in 
96 g·cm
-3
, in jih uvrščamo med vrste z zmernim volu-
menskim nabrekanjem. Poleg tega je bila določena 
vsebnost celuloze (39,92-49,83 %), lignina (17,96-
25,71 %) in pepela (3,89-5,12 %). Nadaljnje študije 
bodo obravnavale druge lastnosti, kot so dimenzije 
vlaken in naravno odpornost lesa divjega mandlja 
proti glivam, plesnim, žuželkam in termitom.
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