Role of Soil and Environmental Factors in Predicting Physical and Mechanical Properties of Black Alder Wood: CCA Aided MLR Modeling Approach

This study aimed to determine and model the relationships between some physical and mechanical properties of wood and physical and chemical properties of the soil, soil nutrient cations, and environmental factors in Alnus glutinosa subsp. barbata stands naturally growing in the Artvin region. Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) was employed to identify the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Stepwise Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) Analysis was used to model the physical and mechanical properties. According to the CCA analysis results, a strong relationship was determined between MOR, MOE, and OWD and chemical soil properties such as pH, Mg, and K (CCA1, r = 0.89). In addition, a significant relationship was determined between CPG and DB and moisture and topographic factors such as AWC, FC, WP, and ALT (CCA2, r = 0.52). As a result of the MLR analysis, the model created for compressive strength parallel to grain explained 55% of the variance (R² = 0.552, RMSE = 35.66); The models created for oven-dry wood density and modulus of elasticity explained 54% (R² = 0.541, RMSE = 0.0352) and 38% (R2 = 0.386, RMSE = 530.99) of the variance, respectively.