Wood Anatomy and Dendrochronology

#iecf2026 #mdpiconference #forests #forestry #forestecology #fungal #agroforestry #forestecology | Forests MDPI 📢 We are delighted to announce that Dr. Angela Balzano from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, will serve as a Committee Member for the 5th International Electronic Conference on Forests–Forests at the Crossroads: Integrating Ecology, Technological Innovation, and Governance ( ), which ...

🎉 New publication from our lab! 🌿🔬📖

We are excited to share our latest research, now published in ⁹Heritage (MDPI)! 

📝 An Adaptive Workflow for the Anatomical Identification of Severely Degraded Carbonised Archaeological Wood from Waterlogged Deposits

Archaeological wood recovered from waterlogged environments is often extremely fragile, carbonised, and difficult to identify. In this study, we developed and validated an adaptive workflow that combines:
🪵 Extended paraffin embedding
🔬 Light microscopy
🧩 Decision-based block-face examination

Instead of relying on a single preparation technique, our approach adapts to the condition of each specimen, maximizing the recovery of anatomical information while minimizing damage to these unique archaeological remains. The workflow successfully enabled the identification of Populus and Quercus specimens from Early Medieval archaeological deposits in Slovenia.  

This work contributes practical solutions for researchers working in:
🌳 Wood anatomy
🏺 Archaeology
🧪 Heritage science
🔬 Microscopy and conservation

👏 Congratulations to our team:
Angela Balzano, Luka Krže, Matjaž Novšak & Maks Merela

📖 Read the full paper through the link: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/9/8/300

📢 New publication alert! 🌳🔬🖨️

We are excited to share our latest paper:

“From X-Ray Tomography to 3D Printing: A Methodological Framework for Wood Microstructure Visualization”

How can we make the invisible world of wood anatomy tangible and accessible?

In this study, we developed a workflow that combines high-resolution X-ray microtomography (micro-CT), 3D reconstruction, and additive manufacturing to create anatomically accurate, species-specific models of wood microstructure.

Using samples of European beech, oak, Norway spruce, and Scots pine, we transformed microscopic wood structures into enlarged 3D-printed models that can be explored visually and tactilely, opening new opportunities for education, science communication, and wood research.

🌱 Non-destructive imaging
🪵 Species-specific anatomical models
🖨️ Sustainable wood-PLA 3D printing
🎓 Innovative tools for teaching wood anatomy

A special thank you to all co-authors and collaborators who contributed to this work!

📖 Read the article here: https://doi.org/10.3390/f17070734

PlantScience Education ScienceCommunication Biomaterials ForestResearch OpenScience Xylem WoodTechnology

🌿 We were very happy to host Prof. Veronica De Micco and Prof. Chiara Cirillo from the Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, during their Erasmus visit at the Department of Wood Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana.

Veronica and Chiara are not only outstanding researchers, but also dear colleagues and friends with whom we have shared a long-standing scientific collaboration 🤝💚

Their research focuses on plant physiology, plant responses to environmental stresses, plant hydraulics, and plant adaptation to climate change 🌱🌍. Through their seminars and discussions, they shared valuable insights with our students and researchers.

Thank you, Veronica and Chiara, for visiting us! 😊 We hope to welcome you back again soon! ✨.

🌲✨ It was a pleasure to participate in and co-organize From Forests to Heritage III together with our Slovenian team from the Department of Wood Science and Technology, University of Ljubljana (UL BF) Oddelek za lesarstvo , as well as Michael Grabner and the teams from .vienna BOKU University and Vienna. 🇸🇮🇦🇹🪵

A truly inspiring conference that brought together researchers, professionals and craftspeople working on forests, wood and wooden cultural heritage from all over the world. 🌍

Our group contributed with several presentations on wood science and dendrochronology:

📌 Comparative analysis of selected physical and mechanical properties of subfossil and recent silver fir (Abies alba) wood
📌 Dendrochronological Dating of the Roof Construction of the Franciscan Monastery in Novo Mesto (Slovenia)
📌 Dendrochronological insights into 3rd millennium BC pile dwellings of Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia

We also contributed to the organization of the Slovenian excursion program to the Ljubljana Marsh archaeological site and the Ribnica Handicraft Centre, while Prof. Maks Merela chaired one of the conference sessions.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to such a beautiful and interdisciplinary event — full of knowledge exchange, collaboration and shared passion for wood and cultural heritage. ✨

🌳📘 New publication online!

I’m happy to share our new review article published in Forests:

“Beyond Climate: A Cambium-Centred Synthesis of Anthropogenic Drivers of Wood Formation in Urban Trees” 🌆🌱

In this work, we propose a cambium-centred framework to understand how anthropogenic drivers influence wood formation in urban trees, going beyond climate alone. We explore how urbanisation, soil compaction, altered hydrology, pollution, salinity, mechanical disturbance, and other emerging stressors may affect cambial activity and xylogenesis. 🪵🔬

The article is part of the Special Issue:
Physiological, Morphological and Anatomical Traits to Abiotic Stress in Woody Plants


📄 Read the article here:
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/5/595

We’re excited to share a new publication by members of our lab: “Wood of Sculptures from West and Central Africa” by Anže Zajc, Jure Žigon, Marko Frelih, and Maks Merela.

In collaboration with the Slovene Ethnographic Museum, the study investigates nine African wooden sculptures using microscopic wood identification techniques. By combining wood anatomy, light microscopy, and cultural-historical context, the authors identified several tropical wood taxa used for the sculptures, including Diospyros, Guibourtia, Millettia, Ceiba pentandra, Xylocarpus, and others.

The research highlights how wood science can contribute to the understanding, preservation, and documentation of cultural heritage objects, while also demonstrating minimally invasive sampling methods suitable for valuable museum artefacts.

Congratulations to the authors on this interdisciplinary contribution!

https://journals.uni-lj.si/les-wood/issue/view/1780

👏