Wood specific gravity for trees in Ankeniheny Zahamena forest corridor, Madagascar

Full materials and methods available from Supporting Information (Manual_4_Wood_Specific_Gravity).

In the field.
Following discussion with local botanist (to find trees that grow locally and to check that local tree names matched scientific tree names) healthy trees, i.e. trees that were neither hollow nor suffering from decay inside the trunk were selected.
15 mm-diameter wood cores were collected using an electric drill powered by a generator (to avoid harvesting trees). Samples were taken at 1.3 m above ground.

In the lab.
To determine the wood specific gravity (WSG) and density at 12% moisture content in the wood cores, a one-centimetre long segment (without bark) from each core was cut. Segments were stabilised in a climatic chamber at 20°C and 65% relative humidity for 7 days to obtain 12% moisture content (MC). Samples were considered stable at 12% moisture content when the weights were constant for 3 consecutive days.