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HF Wood Research

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Wood can help achieve climate targets: when used in construction or processed into plastics in biorefineries, the carbon remains stored in it. Researchers from the Thünen Institute have now published recommendations on how wood products can contribute specifically to climate protection.

Part of the house is currently being lifted into the air by the crane.

Anyone who wants to develop sustainable materials from wood needs to have a good understanding of its structure. A new sample capsule from the Thünen Institute makes it possible to visualise tiny wood structures under strong X-ray radiation – without damaging the sample.

The result image from the experiment shows a pine tree structure in grey on a black background.

In September 2025, the Journal for Nondestructive Evaluation published the article "Evaluation and Mitigation of Domain Shift Impact between Volumetric Submicro-Scale and Micro-Scale Computed Tomography Systems in the Context of Automated Binary Wood Classification"

New publication on end-user acceptance of maintenance and care

The image shows weathered wooden boards.

On November 5, Lars Nieradzik, member of the KI_Wood-ID project team, successfully defended his dissertation.

With 13 theses, the twelve forestry research institutes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland take a clear stance on the topic of carbon sequestration in forests and wood products. The researchers' joint conclusion: the best climate protection and thus forest protection is a significant reduction in…

View of an autumn forest with yellow and brown leaves.

Thünen researchers went on a search for clues for a museum in Munich. To expose possible forgeries, they took a closer look at Māori carvings – or rather, under the microscope. Tomorrow, the exhibition will be officially opened.

A bust carved from black wood with many decorations on the face.

In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology EZRT and the Faculty of Applied Computer Science at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, volumetric sub-µCT and nano-CT data were used in combination with artificial intelligence for wood identification for the first time…

The publication “Technical framework of advanced volumetric sub-μ-CT wood imaging integrated with adaptable deep-learning-based wood species classification: initial evaluation on softwood and hardwood data” was published in August 2025 in the IAWA Journal (open access). What is special about the new study is that comparable studies to date have exclusively used two-dimensional image data from CT measurements. In the “proof-of-concept study,” the new technological approach was tested for the first time in a comparison of softwood (pine) and hardwood (maple). The researchers hope that this new approach will enable them in future to differentiate and identify closely related wood species and other plants with much higher resolution and accuracy.

More informations:

Link to article

Contact:

Dr. Volker Haag

Current publication on the development and characterization of novel lignin adhesives

New publication on impact factors on lab measurements

Sketch of test specimens

Approaches to AI-based differentiation of softwoods in fiber products such as paper.

Conference participants in front of a building

New Thünen Report on a testing method for volatile terpenes from pine wood published

People perceive the smell of wood as more pleasant when they see a suitable image of the material. This has been demonstrated by joint studies conducted by the Thünen Institute of Wood Research and the Leibniz Institute for Work Research.

A person smells a piece of wood.

Interview with Dr. Gerald Koch on the importance of CITES-protected woods for the construction of high-quality musical instruments

The development of a climate chamber for examining swelling and shrinking of wood using nanotomography

Three publications on the olfactory evaluation of wood products have been published.

Illustration of the publications

New review article on methods, efficacy of protective measures, and quality losses

A stack of spruce logs

New publication: A case study in the Harz Mountains, Germany

Dried-out spruce trees in the Harz National Park, Oderhaus district

The Annual Meeting of the International Research Group on Wood Protection took place in Japan with 5 presentations from Hamburg

Wood that makes Music to Life - For thousands of years, wood has been inseparably linked to the world of music. No other material is used as frequently and in such variety in instrument making.

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