Old-growth trees produce a wood that is denser and has a reduced level of which substance?

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Multiple Choice

Old-growth trees produce a wood that is denser and has a reduced level of which substance?

Explanation:
Old-growth wood tends to be denser because it forms under slow growth, creating tightly packed fibers and a larger proportion of heartwood. At the same time, resinous substances, or pitch, are more abundant in younger, living tissue near the outside of the tree (sapwood). As the tree ages and heartwood develops, these extractives are reduced in the final wood, so the wood has a lower pitch content. Moisture, color, and hardness don’t track as consistently with aging in this way, so pitch is the best match for the description of denser wood with a reduced resin content.

Old-growth wood tends to be denser because it forms under slow growth, creating tightly packed fibers and a larger proportion of heartwood. At the same time, resinous substances, or pitch, are more abundant in younger, living tissue near the outside of the tree (sapwood). As the tree ages and heartwood develops, these extractives are reduced in the final wood, so the wood has a lower pitch content. Moisture, color, and hardness don’t track as consistently with aging in this way, so pitch is the best match for the description of denser wood with a reduced resin content.

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