INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY

Volume 14, No. 07, Month DECEMBER, Year 2018, Pages 1977 - 1986

Morphology and anatomy of rosewood (dalbergia cochinchinensis) and relationship between its elemental components and soil properties for identification of endemic species

Sriudorn, N. and Benchawattananon, R.

Abstract Download PDF

The species Dalbergia cochinchinensis, also known as rosewood or Siam rosewood, is an economically important tree because of the quality of its wood. In spite of being listed in the Appendix II of CITES, illegal logging and the associated international trade in illegally sourced wood products along the borders of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia remain a massive threat to this species. This study was carried out to identify rosewood samples collected from different localities of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia using morphological and anatomical characteristics and FTIR, and to establish relationships between their elemental components and the soil properties for identification of endemic species. The results revealed differences in the FTIR patterns of the leaf and bark samples of rosewood and soil samples collected from different countries, which might be due to the differences in the soil properties, humidity and sunlight intensity. The information obtained from this study could be used as the pieces of evidence in investigating illegal logging suspects and should be at least of assistance in surveillance planning to prevent illegal logging of rosewood.

Keywords

Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Illegal logging, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand

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