Resliced X-ray µCT scans of 17 tropical wood species – multiresolution experiment

<p>When considering X-ray &micro;CT for identification of a wooden sample, the question remains which resolution will be sufficient to visualize the wood anatomical features. This dataset contains the X-ray &micro;CT scans, resliced along the three wood directions (transverse, radial and tangential), of 17 different wood species at four different resolutions. These scans form the foundation of a comparative study to evaluate the success of wood anatomical description resolutions ranging from 1 to 15 &micro;m. The dataset of 17 scanned species is made available online to serve as a first step towards a reference database of scanned wood species, facilitating and encouraging more systematic use of X-ray &micro;CT for the identification of wood species.</p> <p>The 17 wood species studied in this paper were selected according to their occurrence among the objects of the Congolese heritage collection of the RMCA. In the past, 7% (3814 out of 55.000 objects) of the museum&rsquo;s collection of wooden cultural objects was analysed and identified by the wood biology department of the RMCA. Based on this dataset of identifications (available here: 10.5281/zenodo.10671337), the most occurring wood species were selected:</p> <p>RUBIACEAE <em>Crossopteryx febrifuga</em> Afzel. Ex G. Don <br>EUPHORBIACEAE <em>Ricinodendron heudelotii </em>(Baill.) Pierre ex Heckel&nbsp;<br>APOCYNACEAE <em>Alstonia congensis</em> Engl. <br>BURSERACEAE <em>Canarium schweinfurthii </em>Engl. <br>RUBIACEAE <em>Nauclea pobeguinii</em> (Pobeg.) Merr. <br>VERBENACEAE <em>Vitex madiensis</em> Oliv. <br>BORAGINACEAE <em>Cordia millenii</em> Baker <br>MORACEAE<em> Milicia excelsa</em> (Welw.) C.C. Berg&nbsp;<br>RUBIACEAE <em>Nauclea latifolia</em> Sm.&nbsp;<br>BIGNONIACEAE<em> Markhamia tomentosa</em> (Benth.) K. Schum. Ex Engl. <br>FABACEAE <em>Albizia zygia</em> (DC.) J.F. Macbr. <br>FABACEAE<em> Pterocarpus tinctorius </em>Welw. <br>FABACEAE <em>Pterocarpus angolensis </em>DC. <br>APOCYNACEAE <em>Funtumia Africana</em> (Benth.) Stapf <br>MORACEAE <em>Ficus mucuso </em>Welw. ex Fical <br>VERBENACEAE <em>Vitex ferruginea</em> Schumach. &amp; Thonn. <br>OLACACEAE <em>Strombosiopsis tetranda </em>Engl.</p> <p>Each sample was prepared for scanning by subdividing it into small cubes, tuned to the scan resolution: cubes of 1x1x10 mm for the 1&micro;m scans; cubes of 5x5x5 mm were made for the 3&micro;m resolution scans, and for the 8&micro;m and 15&micro;m scans the cubes were cut to 1x1x1 cm. The wood samples were scanned at 4 different &lsquo;resolutions&rsquo; -more correctly the approximate voxel pitch of the scans but further referred to as resolution. The Nanowood X-ray &micro;CT scanner was used to make the 68 scans (17 wood species at 4 resolutions). This scanner was custom-built at the UGent Centre for X-ray Tomography (www.ugct.ugent.be) and recently refurbished in collaboration with TESCAN-XRE (www.XRE.be, part of the TESCAN ORSAY HOLDINGS a.s.), a UGCT spin-off company.</p> <p>The .jpeg files in this dataset are named as follows: W<strong>ood species_Tw number_resolution_wood plane_sequence number</strong>.</p> <ul> <li>The Tw number references the 'Tervuren Wood' collection, or the Xylarium of the RMCA, which can be consulted via this website: https://www.africamuseum.be/nl/research/collections_libraries/biology/collections/xylarium</li> <li>The resolution of the scans - more correctly the approximate voxel pitch of the scans - is indicated in &micro;m&nbsp;</li> <li>The three wood planes are abbreviated in the file names: transverse (xs), radial (rls), tangential (tls)</li> <li>The sequence number: for each scan, at least 3 reslices were made for each of the three wood planes. This to take full advantage of the three-dimensional nature of the scans.</li> </ul>