Wood anatomy

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Spruce wood (cross section) under the scanning electron microscope
Beech charcoal (cross section) under the scanning electron microscope
Colorado fir wood (tangential cut, colored) under the light microscope
3D illustration of the tree ring border in ash wood (Fraxinus excelsior L.).

The wood anatomy (xylotomy) is a sub-area of ​​the plant anatomy and wood research. The subject of research is the description of macro and micro structures of the different types of wood as well as their effects on biological and physical wood properties. Types of wood can be determined by means of tissue distribution and fine structures of the cells with wood anatomical methods. The tools used are magnifying glasses, microscopes (e.g. light microscopy and electron microscopy ) and the microtome for making thin sections in the anatomical directions radial (parallel to the wood rays ), tangential (parallel to the growth zones) and axial / transversal (cross-section). In addition to these classic examination tools, which mostly generate two-dimensional images, computer tomography systems have also increasingly been used in recent years for the non-destructive and three-dimensional representation of wood. The distribution of the parenchyma , the vessels and the wood rays as well as the shape and arrangement of the pits are used as microscopic differentiation features .

Wood anatomical laboratories are located, among other places, in the Holzwirtschaft Center at the University of Hamburg , where one of the largest wood collections ( xylotheque ) is located, and in the Institute for Wood Research at the University of Munich. Europe's largest collection of wood can be found in the Xylarium of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren , Belgium , where almost 14,000 specimens are kept. Today there are wood anatomical databases which make it easier to identify wood species using standardized lists of wood anatomical characteristics.

A sub-area of ​​wood anatomy, anthracology or charcoal analysis, deals with the determination of charred wood. Its main areas of application are in archeology or archaeobotany , where it is used to reconstruct fire events or to research the use of wood in earlier times. Another possible application is charcoal analysis in the history of vegetation and climate .

See also

literature

  • Grosser, D., 2003: The woods of Central Europe. Verlag N. Kessel, 87 figs., 2 folding tables for determining the types of wood. ISBN 3935638221
  • Schweingruber, FH, 1990: Anatomy of European woods: An atlas for determining European tree, shrub and dwarf shrub woods. Bern, Stuttgart: Haupt, 800 pp. ISBN 3258042586 ; Reprint of the 1990 edition by Verlag Kessel, Remagen 2011, ISBN 978-3-941300-51-4
  • Akkemik, Ü., Yaman, B., 2012: Wood Anatomy of Eastern Mediterranean Species. Verlag N. Kessel, 313 pages. ISBN 978-3-941300-59-0 , reading sample. Table of contents: PDF

Web links