Identification of spectral and colorimetric reflectance patterns of dry wood of Peltogyne purpurea Pittier

Abstract

Hyperspectral and colorimetric patterns were determined from anatomical and physical aspects for the characterization of dry Peltogyne purpurea Pittier wood from natural forest trees. A sample of 24 P. purpurea wood discs was taken and anatomical characteristics (density and diameter of vessels, percentage of solitary vessels), wood density, colour (CIELab) and hyperspectral reflectance in the range of 310 to 1 100 nm in the dry wood, both in sapwood and heartwood section, were determined. Significant anatomical differences were found between sapwood and heartwood; a higher presence of solitary vessels was found in sapwood (34.28%) but with a vessel density of 27.07 pores mm^-2 and diameter of 148.53 μm In the colorimetry analysis, brightness and b* (yellowing) were higher in sapwood, but with significantly lower values in a* (redness), thus generating a total color difference (higher than 14.55). As regards reflectance, three significant differentiation points were found between both sections, which were at 460, 580 and 1 020 nm; when correlating these three segments, no correlation was found with the anatomical aspects, but with the density of the wood (higher than 0.69), at the color level no relationship was found with the color parameter L* (brightness), while a* only showed inverse correlations at 580 nm and linear ones with b* at 580 nm. In this study no colorimetric relationships with anatomical aspects were found.