A new method is presented for rapid differentiation between coniferous woods commonly found in mixtures in major lumber producing regions of British Columbia. The species mixtures differentiated are the group known as "spruce/ pine/ fir" (SPF) containing white spruce (Picea glauca Voss), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa Nutt.); the pair western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco.); and the group of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla Sarg.), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis Carr.) and amabilis fir (Abies amabilis Dougl.). The method entailed measuring the reflectance infrared spectrum of a sample set of small wood pieces at a resolution of two wave numbers, determining which wavelengths were useful for differentiating species through a combination of correlation analyses and principal component analyses and using measurements at these wavelengths to develop species models using discriminant analysis. These models were then used to classify a larger set of samples measured under the same conditions. This approach was used to classify both green wood samples and the same samples after freeze-drying. For the SPF group the most effective overall classification model for the dry samples used 30 wavelengths and correctly classified 76% of samples, including 74% of heartwood samples and 89% of sapwood samples. For the green samples, the most effective sort used 10 wavelengths and correctly assigned species to 83% of green samples representing 84% of heartwood samples and 76% of sapwood samples. Classification was unsuccessful when the same classification parameters were applied to a matched set of extractive-free SPF samples, indicating that the sorting criteria are dependant upon the presence of extractive chemicals, both in heartwood and sapwood. The same classification parameters applied to a SPF mixture from eastern Canada (black spruce (Picea mariana B.S.P.), white spruce (Picea qlauca Voss.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea Hill) were less successful than for the western SPF mixture. This suggests that each species may have unique sorting criteria based upon the somewhat different extractive chemical complex present in its wood. For the western larch/ Douglas-fir, the most effective overall classification model used 18 wavelengths and classified 98% of dry samples correctly for both heartwood and sapwood. For green samples, the best sort used 12 wavelengths and correctly assigned species to 91% of green samples, representing 90% of heartwood samples and 91% of sapwood samples. For the western hemlock/ Sitka spruce/ amabilis fir mixture, the most effective sort for the dry samples correctly classified 83% of the samples, 85% of heartwood samples and 56% of sapwood samples. Classification of the green samples proved difficult, with the best sort only 67% correct and using 15 wavelengths. However, if only western hemlock and Sitka spruce were sorted, the effectiveness rose to 82%. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

A biodiversidade do Brasil é assunto que vem cada vez mais sendo discutido no sentido da sua preservação, conservação e uso sustentável. A anatomia da madeira, importante ramo da dendrologia, é uma ferramenta essencial para a determinação da composição florística, porque a identificação taxonômica é restringida e limitada pela dificuldade de se encontrar material reprodutivo ou flores nas espécies arbóreas, além da falta de informações sobre a verdadeira identidade das árvores quando jovens e o acesso difícil em campo. Pelo exposto, este projeto de pesquisa tem como objetivos relacionar as espécies florestais mais importantes do cerrado e mata atlântica do Estado de São Paulo, coletar amostras de lenho para a caracterização anatômica macro e microscópica, desenvolver uma chave de identificação dessas espécies e proporcionar um melhor conhecimento dos ecossistemas florestais que ocorrem no Estado de São Paulo. Na Estação Ecológica de Ibicatu, na Reserva Estadual de Porto Ferreira, no Arboreto Experimental da Duratex, na Estação Experimental de Tupi na Estação Experimental de Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, na Reserva Florestal de Santa Genebra e na área do Sítio São Luiz (Jundiaí - SP) foram coletados materiais botânicos e amostras de madeira por método não destrutivo, para realizar as descrições anatômicas macro e microscópicas do lenho das espécies arbóreas desses ecossistemas florestais. / The bio diversity of Brazil is a subject that is being argued more frequently in the direction of its preservation, conservation and sustainable use. The anatomy of the wood, important branch of Dendrology, is an essential tool for the determination of the floristic composition, since the taxonomic identification is restricted and limited for the difficulties of finding reproductive material or flowers in the arboreal species, besides the lack of information on the true identity of young trees and the difficult access in field. For the displayed one, this design of research has as objective to relate the more important forest species of the Cerrado (open pasture) and the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) of the State of São Paulo, to collect samples of log for the anatomical macro and microscopic characterization, to develop a key of identification of these species and to provide one better knowledge of the forest ecosystems that occur in the State of São Paulo. In the Ecological Station of Ibicatu, in the State Hold of Port Blacksmith, in the Experimental Arboretum of Duratex, in the Experimental Station of Tupi, in the Experimental Station of Santa Rita of Passa Quatro, in the Forest Hold of Santa Genebra and in the area of the Sao Luiz small farm in the city of Jundiaí. Wooden samples and botanical material had been collected by non destructive method and, to carry out macro and microscopic anatomical descriptions of the log of the arboreal species of these forest ecosystems.

A biodiversidade do Brasil é assunto que vem cada vez mais sendo discutido no sentido da sua preservação, conservação e uso sustentável. A anatomia da madeira, importante ramo da dendrologia, é uma ferramenta essencial para a determinação da composição florística, porque a identificação taxonômica é restringida e limitada pela dificuldade de se encontrar material reprodutivo ou flores nas espécies arbóreas, além da falta de informações sobre a verdadeira identidade das árvores quando jovens e o acesso difícil em campo. Pelo exposto, este projeto de pesquisa tem como objetivos relacionar as espécies florestais mais importantes do cerrado e mata atlântica do Estado de São Paulo, coletar amostras de lenho para a caracterização anatômica macro e microscópica, desenvolver uma chave de identificação dessas espécies e proporcionar um melhor conhecimento dos ecossistemas florestais que ocorrem no Estado de São Paulo. Na Estação Ecológica de Ibicatu, na Reserva Estadual de Porto Ferreira, no Arboreto Experimental da Duratex, na Estação Experimental de Tupi na Estação Experimental de Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, na Reserva Florestal de Santa Genebra e na área do Sítio São Luiz (Jundiaí – SP) foram coletados materiais botânicos e amostras de madeira por método não destrutivo, para realizar as descrições anatômicas macro e microscópicas do lenho das espécies arbóreas desses ecossistemas florestais. / The bio diversity of Brazil is a subject that is being argued more frequently in the direction of its preservation, conservation and sustainable use. The anatomy of the wood, important branch of Dendrology, is an essential tool for the determination of the floristic composition, since the taxonomic identification is restricted and limited for the difficulties of finding reproductive material or flowers in the arboreal species, besides the lack of information on the true identity of young trees and the difficult access in field. For the displayed one, this design of research has as objective to relate the more important forest species of the Cerrado (open pasture) and the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) of the State of São Paulo, to collect samples of log for the anatomical macro and microscopic characterization, to develop a key of identification of these species and to provide one better knowledge of the forest ecosystems that occur in the State of São Paulo. In the Ecological Station of Ibicatu, in the State Hold of Port Blacksmith, in the Experimental Arboretum of Duratex, in the Experimental Station of Tupi, in the Experimental Station of Santa Rita of Passa Quatro, in the Forest Hold of Santa Genebra and in the area of the Sao Luiz small farm in the city of Jundiaí. Wooden samples and botanical material had been collected by non destructive method and, to carry out macro and microscopic anatomical descriptions of the log of the arboreal species of these forest ecosystems.

Globally, illegal logging poses a significant threat. This results in environmental damage as well as lost profits for legitimate wood product producers and taxes for governments. A global value of $30 to $100 billion is estimated to be associated with illegal logging and processing. Field identification of wood species is fundamental to combating species fraud and misrepresentation in global wood trade. Using computer vision wood identification (CVWID) systems, wood can be identified without the need for time-consuming and costly offsite visual inspections by trained wood anatomists. While CVWID research has received significant attention, most studies have not considered the generalization capabilities of the models by testing them on a field sample, and only report overall accuracy without considering misclassifications. The aim of this dissertation is to advance the design and development of CVWID systems by addressing three objectives: 1) to develop functional, field-deployable CVWID models for Peruvian and North American hardwoods, 2) test the ability of CVWID to solve increasingly challenging problems (e.g., larger class sizes, lower anatomical diversity, and spatial heterogeneity in the context of porosity), and 3) to evaluate the generalization capabilities by testing models on independent specimens not included in training and analyzing misclassifications. This research features four main sections: 1) an introduction summarizing each chapter, 2) a chapter (Chapter 2) developing a 24-class model for Peruvian hardwoods and testing its generalization capabilities with independent specimens not used in training, 3) a chapter (Chapter 3) on the design and implementation of a continental scale 22-class model for North American diffuse-porous hardwoods using wood anatomy-driven model performance evaluation, and 3) a chapter (Chapter 4) on the development of a 17-class models for North American ring-porous hardwoods, in particular examining the model's effectiveness in dealing with the greater spatial heterogeneity of ring-porous hardwoods.