Analysis of Anatomical Characteristics for Wood Species Identification of Commercial Plywood in Korea

Abstract

1) International efforts to prevent illegally logged wood are expanding around the world. The “Legal Wood Trade Promotion System” was enacted in Korea in 2019 to strengthen the legal import and distribution of commercial wood in Korea. Since then, this system has promoted and ensured that the imported wood and wood products are legal with respect to the country of origin, wood species, and harvested area. As verification methods, DNA analysis technology and anatomical analysis using a microscope are mainly used in conjunction. Therefore, in this study, wood species of plywood were identified by analyzing the anatomical characteristics of various wood products for the first time. Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco.) and larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carriere) plywoods (7, 9 ply) were obtained from four companies that supply plywood in Korea. After cutting each company's plywood to a size of about 1 cm 3 , the layers from top to bottom were separated into single layers, and three sections were observed using an optical microscope. The results revealed that the plywood was composed of a mixture of softwood and hardwood wood species, pine wood species, poplar wood species, or a mixture of larch and pine wood species. Identification of wood species using microscopy is important and can enable the scientific analysis and verification of various wood products, including plywood, imported from countries where the likelihood of indiscriminate distribution of illegal wood and illegal logging is high.