AMESWEB

Average Moisture Content of Green Wood (Heartwood & Sapwood)

Use the calculator to compute moisture content (MC) from wet and oven-dry masses, then browse the comprehensive Density of Wood or Thermal Conductivity of Wood pages for related properties.

Moisture Content (MC) Calculator

Result
—
Formula: MC = (mwet − mdry) / mdry × 100%

Average Moisture Content Table (Green Heartwood & Sapwood)

Tip: Values are averages; actual moisture varies by site, season, and sampling.

Average moisture content of green wood at time of felling or freshly sawn, by species and part (heartwood/sapwood).
Species Heartwood MC (%) Sapwood MC (%)
Hardwoods
Alder, red - 97
Apple 81 74
Ash, black 95 -
Ash, green - 58
Ash, white 46 44
Aspen 95 113
Basswood, American 81 133
Beech, American 55 72
Birch, paper 89 72
Birch, sweet 75 70
Birch, yellow 74 72
Cherry, black 58 -
Chestnut, American 120 -
Cottonwood 162 146
Elm, American 95 92
Elm, cedar 66 61
Elm, rock 44 57
Hackberry 61 65
Hickory, bitternut 80 54
Hemlock, mockernut 70 52
Hickory, pignut 71 49
Hickory, red 69 52
Hickory, sand 68 50
Hickory, water 97 62
Magnolia 80 104
Maple, silver 58 97
Maple, sugar 65 72
Oak, California black 76 75
Oak, northern red 80 69
Oak, southern red 83 75
Oak, water 81 81
Oak, white 64 78
Oak, willow 82 74
Sweetgum 79 137
Sycamore, American 114 130
Tupelo, black 87 115
Tupelo, swamp 101 108
Tupelo, water 150 116
Walnut, black 90 73
Yellow-poplar 83 106
Softwoods
Baldcypress 121 171
Cedar, eastern red 33 -
Cedar, incense 40 213
Cedar, Port-Orford 50 98
Cedar, western red 58 249
Cedar, yellow 32 166
Douglas-fir, coast type 37 115
Fir, balsam 88 173
Fir, grand 91 136
Fir, noble 34 115
Fir, Pacific silver 55 164
Fir, white 98 160
Hemlock, eastern 97 119
Hemlock, western 85 170
Larch, western 54 119
Pine, loblolly 33 110
Pine, lodgepole 41 120
Pine, longleaf 31 106
Pine, ponderosa 40 148
Pine, red 32 134
Pine, shortleaf 32 122
Pine, sugar 98 219
Pine, western white 62 148
Redwood, old growth 86 210
Spruce, black 52 113
Spruce, Engelmann 51 173
Spruce, Sitka 41 142
Tamarack 49 -

Note: “Green wood” usually means the cell walls are fully saturated with water.

Material Properties of Wood

Reference

  • Wood Handbook – Wood as an Engineering Material (2010) – Forest Products Laboratory, United States Forest Service.