Image Processing Method as a Supporting Tool for Wood Species Identification

Authors

  • L. Gurau
  • M. C. Timar
  • M. Porojan
  • F. Ioras

Keywords:

Species identification, microscopy, ImageJ analysis

Abstract

Examination of wood sections using microscopy is often not very satisfactory for species identification, and this may be the case for samples taken from objects needing restoration. This could be caused by various parameters, namely small size of the section, condition of the section related to its age or degradation, finishes penetrating the wood material as well as sections not covering a representative area to have an objective and accurate wood identification. An image analysis method based on ImageJ, an image processing program intended for medical microscopy, was used in this work. The method is useful for wood because it offers an objective quantitative way to separate and measure anatomical structures of the section allowing statistical analysis of the data to be carried out. This is a case study related to identifying samples from three furniture pieces needing restoration. Microslides were prepared from small samples of each furniture unit. These were observed with transmitted light microscopy. Each sample was identified by examining the microscopic images, which were interpreted for their common but also specific features and characteristics by means of ImageJ analysis and compared with reference microscopic images of known species and their characteristics provided by the literature. The species identified in this study were found to have diffuse pores. Further work should address more wood species, including softwoods, to check the usefulness of the image processing method on various situations and to understand its limitations.

References

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Published

2013-07-17

Issue

Number 3 / July 2013

Section

Research Contributions

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