Wood anatomy seminar for forensic biologists with focus on wood identification

From Sept. 12-16, 2022, a "Wood anatomy seminar for forensic biologists with focus on wood identification "was held at the Thünen Institute for Wood Research in Hamburg. The course focused on practical techniques for macroscopic and microscopic wood species identification. In the course of the five-day seminar, the following concepts were taught, among others:

•  Basics of wood anatomy and wood species and explanation of technical terms in the context of wood analysis.
•  Practical wood species analyses on solid woods and microscopic cut preparations.
•  Training in the use of databases and programmes for computer-assisted wood species identification (CITESwoodID_2020; macroHolzdata; SOFTWOODS_2022; WOODDATA_2022).

Furthermore, specialized courses were offered on specific fields of application in applied wood species identification such as paper and pulp analysis, 3D microscopy and the development of automated (digital) image recognition systems for wood species identification using artificial intelligence.

Contact:  Dr. Volker Haag und M. Sc. Tim Lewandrowski