Forensic investigation on various wood products through identification of wood species and its destroying organisms Available to Purchase

Forensic investigations into wood products are frequently required to support law enforcement of the timber trade. In this paper, we elaborate on some cases of a forensic investigation into various forms of wood products, such as plywood and decayed wood products. Wood samples were collected from the damaged components of investigated buildings and exported plywood to identify the wood species. The unsatisfactory form of wood samples and heavily damaged wood have become a challenging effort to identify wood species. We used various sectioning techniques to reveal as many wood characteristics as possible to identify wood species. Wood identification was undertaken based on the standards listed by the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA). For a precise identification, we compared the wood samples to the wood collection of Xylarium Bogoriense. This study investigated the wood decay organisms using the Bavendamm test and observing the footprint attacks for decayed wood samples. The result showed a variety of wood species such as Quercus sp. and Cassia sp. for decayed building components; Shorea spp., Anthocephalus sp., Maranthes sp., Durio sp., and Ficus rubinensis for plywood products. The identified wood decay organisms are subterranean termites (Coptotermes sp.), white-rot fungi (Trametes sp., Pycnoporus sp.), brown-rot fungi (Dacryopinax sp.) and soft-rot fungi. The investigation results have been used by related parties as scientific evidence for law enforcement.