Wood species identification from Atlantic forest by near infrared spectroscopy

Aim of study: Fast and reliable wood identification solutions are needed to combat the illegal trade in native woods. In this study, multivariate analysis was applied in near-infrared (NIR) spectra to identify wood of the Atlantic Forest species. Area of study: Planted forests located in the Vale Natural Reserve in the county of Sooretama (19 degrees 01'09 "S 40 degrees 05'51" W), Espirito Santo, Brazil. Material and methods: Three trees of 12 native species from homogeneous plantations. The principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares regression by discriminant function (PLS-DA) were performed on the woods spectral signatures. Main results: The PCA scores allowed to agroup some wood species from their spectra. The percentage of correct classifications generated by the PLS-DA model was 93.2%. In the independent validation, the PLS-DA model correctly classified 91.3% of the samples. Research highlights: The PLS-DA models were adequate to classify and identify the twelve native wood species based on the respective NIR spectra, showing good ability to classify independent native wood samples.