Dieter Eckstein, 1939-2021 and his rich legacy of dendrochronology in Slovenia and the world

Prof. Dr. Dieter Eckstein (1939-2021) was a leading scientist, teacher, mentor, leader, promoter and motivatorin the field of dendrochronology and wood biology. After graduating in wood science and receiving a PhD indendrochronology, he was professor of wood biology at the University of Hamburg. From 1995-2004, he was Director of the Department of Wood Biology, University of Hamburg, and of the Institute of Wood Biology and Wood Protection at the Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products in Hamburg, Germany. His work had a decisive influence on the development of wood anatomy, wood biology and dendrochronology and his laboratory was a reference point for dendrochronology worldwide. He supported dendrochronologists throughout Europe and around the world in their pioneering work to establish dendrochronology laboratories and develop dendrochronology in numerous countries, including Slovenia.

Comparative Wood Anatomy in Pinaceae with Reference to Its Systematic Position

The wood anatomy of 132 species of the genera Abies, Cathaya, Cedrus, Keteleeria, Larix, Nothotsuga, Picea, Pinus, Pseudolarix, Pseudotsuga and Tsuga was studied to determine the elements that characterise the xylem of each genus and discuss possible groupings by wood anatomy for comparison with clades established by molecular phylogeny. The presence of resin canals and ray tracheids supports the family Pinaceae, although the absence of ray tracheids in Keteleeria and their occasional presence in Abies and Pseudolarix weakens it. Based on wood structure, Pinaceae clearly supports division into two groups, coinciding with molecular phylogeny: Pinoideae (Cathaya-Larix-Picea-Pinus-Pseudotsuga) and Abietoideae (Abies-Cedrus-Keteleeria-Nothotsuga-Pseudolarix-Tsuga). Although differences between genera are slight in Pinoideae, the Abietoideae group presents problems such as the presence of only axial resin canals in Keteleeria and Nothotsuga, absence of ray tracheids in Keteleeria and presence of traumatic radial resin canals in Cedrus. However, other features such as pitted horizontal walls and nodular end walls of ray parenchyma cells, indentures, scarce marginal axial parenchyma and presence of crystals in ray parenchyma strengthen the Abietoideae group.

Paleobotany collections: fossil woods available at the Bandung Geological Museum

Indonesia is a country which has plants species diversity. The form of ancient plants that grew in the past are recorded as fossil woods. Several fossil woods from regions in Indonesia were collected and became exhibition collections at the Bandung Geological Museum. These fossil woods on display requires biology identity to provide more information to visitors. Identification of species of fossil woods were carried out based on the anatomical features on the smoothed cross-section. Observations were carried out by a loop hand (a magnification of 10 times and a digital loop (with a magnification of 16 times). The fossil woods anatomy features observed included vessel cells, parenchyma cells, rays cells, and the presence of resin channels. The fossil specimen which had unclear anatomy features compared by detailed description of wood anatomy available at the library and collections of wood samples owned by the Xylarium Bogoriense. The fossil woods species are Canarioxylon sp., Terminalioxylon sp., Anisopteroxylon sp., Dipterocarpoxylon sp., Dryobalanoxylon sp., Hopenium/Hopeoxylon sp., Shoreoxylon sp., Kompassioxylon sp., and Xanthophyllum sp. The mostly fossil woods species resvectively belonging to the Dipterocarpaceae, Combretaceae, Polygalaceae, Burseraceae, and Leguminosae. The fossil woods member of Dipterocarpaceae family are conspicuously characterized with the presence of resin canals.

Anatomical comparison of branches and trunks of seven commercial wood species

Indonesia is a mega-biodiversity country that grows about 4000 timber producer tree species in tropical rain forest. The comprehensive information of wood properties and quality is important in managing the natural resources sustainably. However, stem in basic properties studies of wood from the natural forest is limited because of some difficulties in harvesting until the transportation process. Hence, study the wood branches becomes a solution, as sometimes wood core samples are not adequate. The question was whether the branch properties could represent the main stem properties? Wood anatomy is an important wood property that can predict the other properties, for instance, the physical and mechanical properties, that determine the effective use of this material. This paper aims to present the comparison of wood anatomical properties of branches and main stem of seven commercial wood species. Quantitative and qualitative anatomical structures were investigated according to the International Association of Wood Anatomist (IAWA) Committee. Result shows that the quantitative wood anatomy of four samples (Mimba, Leda, Jabon, and Bintangur) was statistically different, while only one parameter in Tusam, Mindi, and Khaya was different. Accordingly, it can be concluded that studying the wood properties could be carried out using branch effectively.

Comparative wood anatomy of 15 Malagasy Diospyros species (Ebenaceae)

Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) is an important source of ebony, a precious wood used for several economically important timber products. Species are overexploited in many regions, including Madagascar, for both the national and international trade, but little is known about their wood anatomy, despite its importance for forensic identification. Wood anatomy has a major role to play in ensuring the sustainable and equitable utilization of Diospyros species that are not threatened by extinction, and in law enforcement to protect threatened species from illegal logging. This study aims to identify, describe, and test the usefulness of anatomical features to support a taxonomic revision of the genus in Madagascar and to enrich databases for wood identification. Ninety-nine wood specimens were collected from the various bio-geographical regions of Madagascar, representing 15 endemic species (twelve previously described and three new) of large trees (reaching DBH ⩾ 20 cm and/or height ⩾ 20 m) were investigated. Standard methods for wood anatomical studies were used. Statistical analysis of the data using Factorial Analysis on Mixed Data was performed for 14 wood anatomical characters. Detailed descriptions and comparisons of the wood anatomy of the 15 species are provided, along with a wood identification key. Analyses showed that all the characters are highly significant () in the separation of the species studies.