Color and Chemical Composition of Timber Woods (Daniellia oliveri, Isoberlinia doka, Khaya senegalensis, and Pterocarpus erinaceus) from Different Locations in Southern Mali

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript presented for review concerns the issue of color and chemical composition of timber woods (Daniellia oliveri, Isoberlinia doka, Khaya senegalensis, and Pterocarpus erinaceus) from different locations in southern Mali. As the authors of the manuscript point out, the issue is important parameters that make it valuable for a given end-use. In this regard, I agree with the authors. It is well known that different locations will affect the quality of harvested timber. This is no new discovery. Rather, it is a technical manuscript, showing the value of wood depending on where it grows. This is also a significant concern. In general, the manuscript is written correctly. However, it requires a lot of editing work, because the numbering of the lines is in the text, which makes it illegible. Also, hyphenation is not always where it should be. Substantive remarks: The authors should justify the selection of the studied tree species in a more comprehensive way. In addition, there are no photos showing these species, both habit and cross-sections. I do not require specialist microscopic photos here, although they would be a very interesting supplement to the text, but at least macro and micro photos of cross-sectioned trunks.

Author Response

We thank the reviewer for the positive comments and tried to improved the manuscript with her/his suggestions and concerns. IN particular:

• Hyphenation has been removed in the revised version.
• The issue on the justification of the study has been taken into consideration; please see lines 100-104, and in the introduction (lines 61-66). The studied species are among the most appreciated and used timber wood species in Mali, and they are also encountered in the same ecological habitat. Furthermore, for the present research, it was relevant to consider wood species from different locations that are under the same climatic condition.
• We now provide cross-section images in the revised version of the manuscript, please see current Figure 1

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper considers the color and chemical composition of timber woods from different locations in southern Mali, and is considered suitable for this journal. However, there are some points that need to be fixed as shown below. Please consider.

1. Regarding Figure 1: It is unclear what the vertical axis represents.

2. Regarding Figure 3: I can understand the relationship with Table 4, but looking at the figure alone, it is unclear what the vertical and horizontal axes indicate.

3.The relationship between FTIR absorption bands and wood components is explained numerically, so we can understand it. Even if it's just an example, if you show an FTIR chart and show the relationship between absorption bands and wood components, We think it will help us understand better.

Author Response

We thank the reviewer for her/his suggestions, which we have all considered.

1. Vertical axes refer to color parameters as specified in the updated version of Figure 2 in the revised manuscript.
2. Vertical axes refer to FTIR ratios as specified in the updated version of Figure 5 in the revised manuscript.
3. A new figure is now provided including the average spectra of the tree species, as well as assigments of the main absorbances, see current Figure 3

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The Authors took into account the recommendations of the reviewers and improved their manuscript. However, it lacks a map locating the places from which the samples were taken - most of the potential readers probably do not have such good orientation in the geography of Mali and such a map is necessary. Also, photos from these locations would increase the substantive value of the manuscript.

Author Response

Many thanks for your comments. Following your suggestions we've improved the English language, the description of the research design and the methods - comments that are in line with those made by the Academic Editor.