For example, the chemical composition of tropical wood used for bridges and window frames tells us where trees used to grow.
This allows us to trace the origin of our timber and reduce illegal trade. This is the main finding of a large-scale collaboration between Wageningen University & Research and international partners. In this study, we collected wood samples from approximately 1000 timbers from Central Africa and Borneo and analyzed their chemical composition. The team found that the wood’s chemical fingerprints revealed its origin on a subnational scale.
Illegal trade in tropical timber
The illegal trade in timber is one of the most lucrative forms of wildlife crime, and misrepresentation of origin is one of the main types of timber fraud. Trade routes are often complex, with timber passing through multiple countries before it reaches its destination. This raises the risk of declaration Timber fraud is particularly high in the tropics, with it estimated that up to 90% of timber is illegally exported in some countries of the Congo Basin.
Recent legislation in the European Union requires timber traders to prove that their products are legally sourced and not from deforested areas. Laura Boeschoten, her PhD candidate at Wageningen University & Research and lead author of a study published this week in Environmental Research Letters, said: For example, when you arrive at the port of Rotterdam. An independent method of verifying the origin of timber will be critical to the enforcement of this new law. The multi-element analysis applied in our study could be an effective tool to achieve this. ”
Definition of chemical fingerprint
The team analyzed the chemical composition, or ‘fingerprint’, of the wood samples. Boeschoten: “We used mass spectrometry to measure a large number of chemical elements at once, such as magnesium and calcium. While multi-element analysis has already been put into practice to verify the provenance of things like asparagus, bananas and tea, this is the first time it has been applied to wood.
Successful tracking at local level
Researchers found considerable differences in the wood elemental composition of the three major woods. “It was exciting to see such a big difference at such a small spatial scale, such as only 50 km apart,” says co-author Pieter Zuidema, Wageningen University and Research Professor. “This is essential for tracing wood to a specific point of origin.”
The international team investigated Red Meranti, an Asian wood used for window frames, and Azobe and Tali, African woods used for waterworks. Because chemical fingerprints vary widely by region, samples could be traced to subnational origins with 86%–98% accuracy in Central Africa, and to forests of origin with 88% accuracy in Borneo. rice field. Blind samples collected independently from Central Africa were correctly assigned to 70–72% at the local level.
tim trace
This research was conducted as part of the Timtrace project, which aims to develop and test wood tracing methods using both chemical and genetic techniques. The Timtrace project is a collaboration of universities and research institutes in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Indonesia and is funded by NWO.
Original: Wood Fingerprints Help Fight Illegal Trade
Than: Wageningen University and Research
