Wood Species Identification, A Challenge of Scientific Conservation

Wood species identification is an important step in the scientific approach of conservation of the wooden cultural heritage. The paper refers to the microscopic identification of the wooden species for two artisanal objects, investigated for conservation purposes. A previous macroscopic analysis of these objects, after thorough cleaning of the surfaces offered some basic information on the possible wood species involved, but due to the degradation of the support this was not conclusive for some elements of these objects, so that relevant samples were taken out, prepared and investigated. The identified wooden species were: poplar (Populus spp), sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), fir and beech (Fagus sylvatica). This identification was based on the microscopic keys of wood identification, reference microscopic slides of the respective wood species and microscopic measurements followed by data processing employing the ImageJ software.