Abstract
The aim of this study was to provide information on the anatomical characteristics of carbonized wood of Prosopis alba and also test the potential of near-infrared in discrimination of wood and charcoal from natural or planted forest. The samples from four different sites were carbonized at 450°C in muffle furnace, both wood and charcoal anatomical qualitative and quantitative features were analysed and measured, and infrared analyses were performed. The qualitative characteristics of the wood anatomy remained in charcoal and the vessel diameter was the only quantitative feature with a statistically significant difference between them, hence the anatomical aspects were insufficient to distinguish between sites. Near-infrared spectroscopy with multivariate statistics showed good results in segregating the samples from planted forest from those of natural forests by using partial least square regression both in wood and carbonized material, indicating a good potential use in distinguishing material from different origins.
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