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Dendrology under the microscope

27/2/2018

 
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Dendrology is a subcategory of botany that specializes in the characterization and identification of trees and woody plants. http://www.dendrology.org/site/en/ 

Jean-Claude Cerre has developed a technique of wood macrophotography using highly polished transverse and longitudinal wood surfaces, that allow high resolution observations at the microscale.  His photographs have been used in the "Tropical Timber Atlas". 

This atlas combines the main technical characteristics of 283 tropical species and 17 species from temperate regions most commonly used in Europe with their primary uses. Each data sheet is accompanied by two photos of sawn wood (flat sawn and quarter sawn, or flat sawn and half quarter sawn), two macro photographs, and for certain species, an illustration of how the wood can be used.Its purpose is to promote the most appropriate uses for each species according to its characteristics and in line with the motto: “the right wood in the right place”.

https://ebook.chapitre.com/livres/tropical-timber-atlas-9782759227709_9782759
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​Cerre's macro photography has also inspired Australian Morris Lake to investigate the possibility of using pattern matching to trace and identify timbers to reduce illegal logging by regulating the world lumber trade, as the ABC reported in 2015. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/macro-photo-technique-offers-hope-to-combat-illegal-logging/6525148 

Lake is pushing for changes to the identification process of wood because of Cerre's new preparation and photography technique that produces clear colour photos of the end grain on a macro level.

The resulting photos of woody cross sections show the structure of the wood so clearly that you can actually see through some of the vessels illustrating the unique tissue structure of each species of tree.  An international database of macro photos combined with computer algorithms could identify the provenance of a log even if all its botanical information is stripped.

Morris Lake presented this idea on pattern recognition and an international database of wood end grain cuts to the joint meeting of the International Wood Collectors Society and the International Association of Wood Anatomists at Penn State University in July 2015.

Morris Lake worked for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries from 1961 to 1998. Since 1998, he has served in the International Wood Collectors Society (IWCS) as AustralAsian Regional Trustee and has authored the CSIRO publication "Australian Rainforest Woods".

His book describes 141 of the most significant Australian rainforest trees and their wood. The introductory sections draw the reader into an understanding of the botanical, evolutionary, environmental, historical and international significance of this beautiful but finite Australian resource. The main section examines the species and their wood with photographs, botanical descriptions and a summary of the characteristics of the wood.   It is the first time that macrophotographs of the wood have been shown in association with a physical description of wood characteristics, which will aid identification. 
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http://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7288/#features
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