Clay and soil organic matter drive wood multi-elemental composition of a tropical tree species: Implications for timber tracing

Boeschoten, Laura E.; Sass‐Klaassen, Ute; Vlam, Mart; Comans, R.N.J.; Koopmans, G.F.; Meyer-Sand, Barbara R. V.; Tassiamba, Steve N.; Tchamba, Martin T; Zanguim, Herman T.; Zemtsa, Pascaline T.; Zuidema, Pieter A.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157877

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The multi-element analysis of wood is a promising new method for origin identification (Boeschoten et al 2022). A large number of elements (such as Mg, Ca, La) are measured simultaneously using mass spectrometry and based on this elemental composition, an origin-specific fingerprint is defined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multi-element analysis was already found to be useful for assignment and verification of a variety of commodities, such as green asparagus, bananas and tea (Gonzalvez, et al 2009, Ma et al 2016, Richter et al 2019, and has been successful at both regional and continental scales (Joebstl et al 2010, Baroni et al 2015). For timber, further research across different countries and species is essential to understand how the method operates (Boeschoten et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multi-element analysis may provide advantages in origin determination compared to other timber tracing methods under investigation, such as stable isotopes, genetic or direct analysis in real time -time of flight mass spectrometry (DART-TOFMS) analyses (Lee et al 2015, Vlam et al 2018, Deklerck et al 2020. As wood chemical composition is thought to be influenced by soil chemistry (Boeschoten et al 2022), the chemical profile of multiple species might overlap. Even if species differ in elemental composition (Amais et al 2021), the variation between sites could still be reflected in multiple species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new method for the timber tracing toolbox: applying multi-element analysis to determine wood origin

Boeschoten

Vlam

Sass‐Klaassen

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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To effectively reduce illegal timber trade, law enforcers need forensic methods to independently verify claims of wood origin. Multi-element analysis of traded plant material has the potential to be used to trace the origin of commodities, but for timber it has not been tested at relevant large scales. Here we put this method to the test, by evaluating its tracing accuracy for three economically important tropical timbers: Azobé and Tali in Central Africa (22 sites) and Red Meranti on Borneo (9 sites). Wood samples from 991 trees were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and element concentrations were analysed to chemically group similar sites (clustering) and assess accuracy of tracing samples to their origin (Random Forest models). For all three timbers, we found distinct spatial differences in chemical composition. In Central Africa, tracing accuracy was 86%–98% for regional clusters of chemically similar sites, with accuracy depending on the tracing question. These clusters were 50–800 km apart and tracing accuracy was highest when combining the two timbers. Tracing accuracy of Red Meranti on Borneo was 88% at the site level. This high accuracy at a small scale may be related to the short distances at which differences in soil type occur on Borneo. A blind sample analysis of 46 African timber samples correctly identified the origin of 70%–72% of the samples, but failed to exclude 70% of the samples obtained from different species or outside the study area. Overall, these results illustrate a high potential for multi-element analysis to be developed into a timber tracing tool which can identify origin for multiple species and can do so at a within-country scale. To reach this potential, reference databases need to cover wider geographic areas and represent more timbers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new method for the timber tracing toolbox: applying multi-element analysis to determine wood origin

Boeschoten

Vlam

Sass‐Klaassen

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…Dendrochemistry, i.e., the chemical analysis of tree-rings is increasingly used as a natural archive of historical changes in the chemistry of the environment of trees. A wide variety of analytical techniques (destructive and non-destructive) is applied to analyse wood samples in the contexts of environmental pollution, changes in soil chemistry, dating of volcanic eruptions and forest fires or provenancing of wood (Pearson et al, 2005;Kuang et al, 2008;Locosselli et al, 2018;Muñoz et al, 2019;Rocha et al, 2020;Boeschoten et al, 2022). Temporal trends of elemental concentrations are used as proxies for historical changes of these diverse environmental factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To extract or not to extract? Influence of chemical extraction treatment of wood samples on element concentrations in tree-rings measured by X-ray fluorescence

Scharnweber

Rocha²,

Arrojo³

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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In micro-densitometry of wood it is standard procedure to extract resin and other soluble compounds before X-ray analysis to eliminate the influence of these extractives on wood-density. Dendrochemical studies using X-ray fluorescence analysis on the other hand are commonly conducted without previous extraction. However, it is well known that translocation processes of elements during heartwood formation in trees or (temporal) differences in sap content of wood samples can influence dendrochemical element profiles. This might bias environmental signals stored in time series of element concentrations in wood proxies. We hypothesize that metals tightly bound to cell walls show a more robust proxy potential for environmental conditions than easily translocated ones. To eliminate the noise of these soluble substances in wood elemental time series, their extraction prior to analysis might be necessary. In our study we tested the effect of different solvents (water, alcohol, and acetone) and different extraction times on elemental time series of three tree species with differing wood structure (Pinus sylvestris; Quercus robur and Populus tremula). Micro-XRF analysis was conducted on nine replicates per species using an ITRAX-Multiscanner. A set of elements commonly detected in wood (S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, and Ni) was analysed at high resolution before and after several extraction runs. Besides lowering their levels, extraction did not significantly change the temporal trends for most elements. However, for some elements, e.g., Potassium, Chlorine or Manganese, especially the water extraction led to significant decreases in concentrations and altered temporal trends. Apparently the dipole effect of water produced the strongest extraction power of all three solvents. In addition we observed a dependency of extraction intensity from wood density which differed between wood types. Our results help in interpreting and evaluating element profiles and mark a step forward in establishing dendrochemistry as a robust proxy in dendro-environmental research.

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“…Alternative techniques to trace archaeological woods or commercial timbers are either based on analysis of chronological sequences such as Blue Intensity chronologies (Akhmetzyanov et al 2020a) and wood anatomy (Akhmetzyanov et al 2019;D' Andrea et al 2022), either on bulk proxies such as DNA and haplogroup mapping (Deguilloux et al 2003;Kanno et al 2004;Liepelt et al 2010;Akhmetzyanov et al 2020b), isotopic signatures of carbon (Kagawa & Leavitt 2010), hydrogen (Keppler et al 2007), oxygen (Boner et al 2007;Young et al 2015), and strontium (Rich et al 2016;Hajj et al 2017;Pinta et al 2021), organic markers (Doussot et al 2002;Prida & Puech 2006;Sandak et al 2011;Traoré et al 2018), and multi-elemental composition (Durand et al 1999;Boeschoten et al 2022). These new techniques have proven to be particularly versatile and efficient tools for wood tracing when combined in a multi-proxy approach (Gori et al 2015;Akhmetzyanov et al 2019;Domínguez-Delmás et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-elemental and Strontium-Neodymium Isotopic Signatures in Charred Wood: Potential for Wood Provenance Studies

et al. 2023

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The chemical composition of the wood reflects the composition of the soil over which the corresponding tree has developed. Multi-elemental and isotopic signatures, which are characteristic of the soil and underlying rock substrates, are potentially powerful tools for determining wood provenance. These tracers are of special interest for charred archaeological wood because they circumvent some limitations of dendrochronological provenancing linked to tree-ring loss. However, thermal degradation may introduce a significant bias in wood chemical and isotopic analyses. This experimental study focused on the effects of carbonization temperature on three geochemical wood markers: elemental signatures and isotopic signatures of strontium and neodymium (86Sr/87Sr and 143Nd/144Nd, respectively). Wood specimens from a variety of oak trees and stand locations were pyrolyzed at four temperatures (ranging from 200°C to 800°C) and analyzed using ICP-MS and µ-XRF (X-ray fluorescence) spectroscopy for elemental composition and with multiple collection ICP-MS (MC-ICP-MS) for strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotope composition. The concentration of mineral nutrients generally increased with temperature, but the magnitude of the enrichment depended on the element, wood compartment (sapwood vs. heartwood), and geological substrate. The concentrations of rubidium, strontium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and, to a lesser extent, calcium, were minimally affected by temperature, wood compartment, and substrate. The ratios between the concentrations of these elements, as well as the 86Sr/87Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotope ratios, were stable over the entire temperature range. However, only 86Sr/87Sr and selected elemental ratios (calcium or magnesium normalized to manganese) were successful for site discrimination. Therefore, our multi-tracer approach provides promising new information to determine the provenance of charred archaeological wood.

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Clay and soil organic matter drive wood multi-elemental composition of a tropical tree species: Implications for timber tracing

Cited by 14 publications

References 47 publications

A new method for the timber tracing toolbox: applying multi-element analysis to determine wood origin

A new method for the timber tracing toolbox: applying multi-element analysis to determine wood origin

To extract or not to extract? Influence of chemical extraction treatment of wood samples on element concentrations in tree-rings measured by X-ray fluorescence

Multi-elemental and Strontium-Neodymium Isotopic Signatures in Charred Wood: Potential for Wood Provenance Studies

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