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Forests
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Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition
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Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Wood Science and Forest Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 6160

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nicola Macchioni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council of Italy, Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Interests: wood science; archaeology; heritage conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Elisa Pecoraro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council of Italy, Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Interests: wood aging; archaeological wood; waterlogged archaeological wood; wooden/table paintings; wooden statues; historic timber structures; historic wood dating
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paola Mazzanti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Florence, Italy
Interests: hygro-mechanical behavior of wood and wooden artefacts; physical and mechanical characterization of wood
Dr. Lorenzo Riparbelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Florence, Italy
Interests: wood science application to cultural heritage conservation; hygro-mechanical behavior of wood and wooden artefacts; numerical analysis of wooden cultural heritage and timber structures
Dr. Dawa Shen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
China Academy of Cultural Heritage, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: conservation; cultural heritage; wood object; waterlogged wood; archaeological wood; polymer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For thousands of years, humans have used wood as a raw material. We now consider as cultural heritage wooden-made constructions, structures, tools, and other artefacts. The preservation of such objects is of great importance today because they show the skills and knowledge of our past generations, together with their aesthetics. Several are the categories of wooden cultural heritage to be preserved, from buildings to painted panels, musical instruments, statues, furniture, buildings, boats, and archaeological wood, among others. The conservation of these objects is a complex task because of the biodegradable nature of wood and the various as well as different materials used to build them. In some cases, such as, for instance, musical instruments or buildings, preservation also involves the unique aspect of keeping their functionality. Additionally, the advancements in numerical modeling and finite element analysis have become feasible and effective tools in the structural analysis of wooden artifacts. Another crucial aspect of preserving wooden cultural heritage is the dating of wood, which provides useful information to conservators and restorers with which to better analyze objects.

Dr. Nicola Macchioni
Dr. Elisa Pecoraro
Dr. Paola Mazzanti
Dr. Lorenzo Riparbelli
Dr. Dawa Shen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wood aging
  • archaeological wood
  • waterlogged archaeological wood
  • painted panels
  • wooden statues
  • historical music instruments
  • historic furniture
  • historic timber structures
  • historic wood dating
  • historic wood numerical modeling
  • historic wood simulation

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2416 KiB  
Article
Volcanic Impact Patterns in Tree Rings from Historical Wood in Northern Fennoscandia’s Old Churches
by Oleg I. Shumilov, Elena A. Kasatkina, Mauri Timonen and Evgeniy O. Potorochin
Forests 2025, 16(4), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16040573 - 26 Mar 2025
Viewed by 275
Abstract
This study revealed a significant reduction in tree growth across northern Fennoscandia following the 1600 AD eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru, the most powerful volcanic event in South America over the past two millennia. In the analysis, we utilized six tree-ring chronologies, which [...] Read more.
This study revealed a significant reduction in tree growth across northern Fennoscandia following the 1600 AD eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru, the most powerful volcanic event in South America over the past two millennia. In the analysis, we utilized six tree-ring chronologies, which included the Finnish super-long chronology (5634 BC–2004 AD), the Kola Peninsula chronology (1445–2004 AD), and historical chronologies derived from old wooden churches in Finnish Lapland and Karelia, Russia. Using a superposed epoch analysis across these chronologies revealed a significant 24% (p < 0.01) decline in tree-ring growth in 1601 compared to the previous six years. The northernmost records, the Finnish super-long chronology (72%, p < 0.001) and the Sodankylä Old Church chronology (67%, p < 0.001), showed the most pronounced decreases. Statistical analysis confirmed significant (p < 0.05) similarities in tree-ring responses across all chronologies from 1601 to 1608. These findings underscore the reliability of using the 1600 Huaynaputina eruption as a chronological marker for dating historic wooden churches in northern Fennoscandia that were likely built between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Additionally, analyzing church wood may provide insights into past climate patterns and environmental conditions linked to the eruption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition)
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25 pages, 15147 KiB  
Article
Global Trends in Wood Heritage Research: A Bibliometric and Scientometric Analysis
by João Carlos Ferreira de Melo Júnior, Margherita Vicario and Nicola Macchioni
Forests 2025, 16(2), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16020326 - 13 Feb 2025
Viewed by 626
Abstract
The cultural use of wood, historically grounded in the understanding of ancient artefacts, has garnered increasing interest from researchers, as it enables the exploration of relationships between biodiversity, ancestral knowledge, and the cultural materiality of distinct human societies. The main objective of this [...] Read more.
The cultural use of wood, historically grounded in the understanding of ancient artefacts, has garnered increasing interest from researchers, as it enables the exploration of relationships between biodiversity, ancestral knowledge, and the cultural materiality of distinct human societies. The main objective of this article is to provide an overview and identify the main global trends in studies on the cultural use of wood. The article analyses documents from the Web of Science Core Collection from 1976 to 2024, highlighting the characteristics of scientific production, collaboration networks, keywords, and high-impact literature through bibliometric and scientometric methods. The choice was made for WoS as it is one of the largest databases in the world with complete scientific articles, considering the year with the oldest publication on the topic. The results reveal a growing academic interest in wooden heritage, with notable contributions from Italy, China, France, Spain, and England. With their remarkable cultural expression in wood, Latin countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina hold significant potential in this field. Areas such as wood chemistry and materials science are predominant, underscoring the need for collaboration with researchers, such as plant anatomists, who can integrate botanical and forestry information on culturally significant species and better contribute to global wooden heritage preservation efforts. This study can contribute to the circulation and integration of researchers interested in the topic and encourage the advancement of underexplored but culturally essential subjects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition)
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11 pages, 11561 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Possibility of Ionic Liquid as a Dimensional Stabilizer for Well-Preserved Waterlogged Archaeological Wood
by Yihang Zhou, Zhiguo Zhang, Kai Wang, Tao Jin, Yi Feng, Mengruo Wu, Xiangna Han, Liuyang Han and Jiajun Wang
Forests 2024, 15(12), 2160; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15122160 - 6 Dec 2024
Viewed by 878
Abstract
Dehydration is the principal conservation process for waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW), with the aim of preventing shrinkage and cracking. For well-preserved WAW, shrinkage mainly takes place when the moisture content is below the fiber saturation point. Here, we conduct a new trial using [...] Read more.
Dehydration is the principal conservation process for waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW), with the aim of preventing shrinkage and cracking. For well-preserved WAW, shrinkage mainly takes place when the moisture content is below the fiber saturation point. Here, we conduct a new trial using ionic liquid as a dimensional stabilizer to maintain a stable swollen state of WAW. Molecular dynamics simulation (MD), shrinkage measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) were adopted to investigate the interactions and effects of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim][Cl]) on WAW (Dipterocarpaceae Dipterocarpus sp. with a maximum moisture content of 80.3%) in comparison with the conventional material polyethylene glycol (PEG). The results show that [Bmim][Cl] and its water mixtures have a comparable or slightly greater ability to swell amorphous cellulose than does water at room temperature, while crystalline cellulose is left intact. The samples treated with [Bmim][Cl] show less shrinkage than the PEG 300- and PEG 2000-treated samples at all tested concentrations after air-drying. The best dimension control was achieved by 40 wt% [Bmim][Cl], with volumetric shrinkage reduced from 5.03% to 0.47%. DVS analysis reveals that [Bmim][Cl] reduces moisture contents at moderate and low relative humidity (<80%) when the concentration is at or below 20 wt%, which suggests that good dimensional stability was not achieved by simply preserving the moisture content but possibly through the interaction of the ionic liquid with the wood polymers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition)
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Review

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25 pages, 2065 KiB  
Review
Challenges and Prospects of Applying Nanocellulose for the Conservation of Wooden Cultural Heritage—A Review
by Paulina Kryg, Bartłomiej Mazela, Waldemar Perdoch and Magdalena Broda
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071174 - 5 Jul 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1946
Abstract
Nanocellulose is a nanostructured form of cellulose, which retains valuable properties of cellulose such as renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and sustainability and, due to its nano-sizes, acquires several useful features, such as low density, high aspect ratio and stiffness, a high specific surface [...] Read more.
Nanocellulose is a nanostructured form of cellulose, which retains valuable properties of cellulose such as renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and sustainability and, due to its nano-sizes, acquires several useful features, such as low density, high aspect ratio and stiffness, a high specific surface area, easy processing and functionalisation, and good thermal stability. All these make it a highly versatile green nanomaterial for multiple applications, including the conservation of cultural heritage. This review provides the basic characteristics of all nanocellulose forms and their properties and presents the results of recent research on nanocellulose formulations applied for conserving historical artefacts made of wood and paper, discussing their effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages. Pure nanocellulose proves particularly useful for conserving historical paper since it can form a durable, stable coating that consolidates the surface of a degraded object. However, it is not as effective for wood consolidation treatment due to its poor penetration into the wood structure. The research shows that this disadvantage can be overcome by various chemical modifications of the nanocellulose surface; owing to its specific chemistry, nanocellulose can be easily functionalised and, thus, enriched with the properties required for an effective wood consolidant. Moreover, combining nanocellulose with other agents can also improve its properties, adding new functionalities to the developed supramolecular systems that would address multiple needs of degraded artefacts. Since the broad use of nanocellulose in conservation practice depends on its properties, price, and availability, the development of new, effective, green, and industrial-scale production methods ensuring the manufacture of nanocellulose particles with standardised properties is necessary. Nanocellulose is an interesting and very promising solution for the conservation of cultural heritage artefacts made of paper and wood; however, further thorough interdisciplinary research is still necessary to devise new green methods of its production as well as develop new effective and sustainable nanocellulose-based conservation agents, which would replace synthetic, non-sustainable consolidants and enable proper conservation of historical objects of our cultural heritage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition)
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41 pages, 80924 KiB  
Review
The Pivotal Role of Microscopy in Unravelling the Nature of Microbial Deterioration of Waterlogged Wood: A Review
by Adya P. Singh, Jong Sik Kim, Ralf Möller, Ramesh R. Chavan and Yoon Soo Kim
Forests 2024, 15(5), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15050889 - 20 May 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1516
Abstract
This review focuses on the pivotal role microscopy has played in diagnosing the type(s) of microbial attacks present in waterlogged ancient wooden objects, and to understand the nature and extent of deterioration of such objects. The microscopic journey began with the application of [...] Read more.
This review focuses on the pivotal role microscopy has played in diagnosing the type(s) of microbial attacks present in waterlogged ancient wooden objects, and to understand the nature and extent of deterioration of such objects. The microscopic journey began with the application of light microscopy (LM) to examine the deterioration of waterlogged woods, notably foundation piles supporting historic buildings, progressing into the use of high-resolution imaging tools (SEM and TEM) and techniques. Although bacteria were implicated in the deterioration of foundation piles, confirmation that bacteria can indeed degrade wood in its native state came when decaying wood from natural environments was examined using electron microscopy, particularly TEM, which enabled bacterial association with cell wall regions undergoing degradation to be clearly resolved. The information base has been a catalyst, stimulating numerous studies in the past three decades or so to understand the nature of microbial degradation of waterlogged archaeological wood more precisely, combining LM, SEM, and TEM with high-resolution chemical analytical methods, including chemical microscopy. The emerging information is aiding targeted developments towards a more effective conservation of ancient wooden objects as they begin to be uncovered from burial and waterlogging environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wood as Cultural Heritage Material: 2nd Edition)
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