Atlas of Macroscopic Wood Identification

Flavio Ruffinatto has a MS in Forestry and Environmental Sciences and a PhD in Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (University of Turin, Italy). His professional and research interests include macroscopic and microscopic wood identification, forensic timber identification, wooden cultural heritage diagnostics and conservation. He has extensive experience teaching wood technology and wood identification for academic students and vocational training bodies.Alan Crivellaro obtained his degree in Wood Science and Technology (2002), a B.Sc. in Forestry (2008) and a PhD (Doctor Europaeus) in Ecology in 2012 at the University of Padova (Italy). In 2002 he joined as assistant researcher the Trees and Timber Institute of the Italian National Research Council, and since that time he has been involved in a research program on timber strength classification until 2007 when he focused on his PhD. From 2015 to 2018 he was assistant professor in Wood Science at the Dept.Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Padova. Alan Crivellaro teaches wood anatomy and plant ecology at international fieldweeks and summer school.

“Ruffinatto and Crivellaro have produced a welcome addition to the ranks of must-have English-language references for macroscopic wood identification. … this book should not be restricted only to European wood anatomists, but should extend to wood identification specialists and wood technologists across the world. … This book belongs on the shelves, physically or electronically, of wood anatomists and wood identifiers across the world and should become a required reference for any import/export control officer responsible for monitoring wood trade in the EU.” (Alex C. Wiedenhoeft, Wood Science and Technology, Vol. 54, 2020)“This large volume … is a remarkable contribution to the field of wood identification. … Continuous refinement and attention to the field since then has produced a remarkablebody of knowledge of this important organ. This volume is a great addition to it.” (Richard Keating, Economic Botany, Vol. 74 (3), 2020)

• Introduction.- Background of the study, aims and scope.- Wood structure and plans of observations.- Brief introduction on wood structure and plans of observation for macroscopic identification.- Samples preparation and observation.- Instructions on how to prepare samples and observe them.- Materials and methods.- Origin of the material studied, samples preparation and photos acquisition.- Definition of Macroscopic Features.- List of macroscopic features with definitions and illustrations.- Identification key.- Wood descriptions.- References.- Index of species.