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Forests
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Waterlogged Archaeological Woods
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Waterlogged Archaeological Woods

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 19400

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yoon Soo Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea
Interests: forestry; transmission (TEM); lignin; ultrastructure; electron microscope; microscopic techniques; wood biology
Prof. Dr. Adya P. Singh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Scion, Wood and Fiber Science, Rotorua, New Zealand
Interests: plant biology; plant biotechnology; biotechnology; enzymes; botany; bioenergy; lignin; ultrastructure; wood chemistry; wood anatomy; pulp technology; wood

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Comprehensive information and up-to-date knowledge on the waterlogged archaeological woods (WAWs) under degradation by biotic and abiotic agents is crucial for developing the appropriate strategies of conservation and for exploring the significance of human cultural context embedded in WAWs. A wide range of rapidly advancing analytical methods, such next-generation sequencing for identification of microbiota, have been employed to elucidate the characteristics of WAWs. However, nearly all information available to date is still too scattered and fragmentary to provide a coherent account of the different perspective in WAWs. In this regard, compendium in this special issue has to design to addressing a holistic coverage of relevant information across diverse disciplines. Priorities are given to novel and interdisciplinary challenges for shaping WAWs as one of the most precious cultural artifacts.

Prof. Dr. Yoon Soo Kim
Prof. Dr. Adya P. Singh
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

  • degradation modes
  • physical and mechanical changes
  • lignin alteration
  • abiotic degradation of wood polymers under long-term waterlogged circumstances
  • burial environments
  • identification of microbiota using NGS
  • marine borers
  • emerging impregnation agents
  • exhibition of WAW under climate changes

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4960 KiB  
Article
Physico-Mechanical Properties of Waterlogged Archaeological Wood: The Case of a Charred Medieval Shipwreck
by Eirini Mitsi, Nikolaos-Alexios Stefanis and Anastasia Pournou
Forests 2023, 14(3), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030560 - 12 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1907
Abstract
In 2008, a late-12th-century merchant ship was discovered off the commercial port of Rhodes. The vessel caught fire before sinking and thus numerous hull timbers were found charred. Three main degrees of charring have been recorded that presented major chemical differences which indicated [...] Read more.
In 2008, a late-12th-century merchant ship was discovered off the commercial port of Rhodes. The vessel caught fire before sinking and thus numerous hull timbers were found charred. Three main degrees of charring have been recorded that presented major chemical differences which indicated different conservation requirements. This study investigated the correlation between the chemistry of the waterlogged timbers and their physico-mechanical properties, to assist in the development of an appropriate conservation strategy. Scanning electron microscopy documented the morphology of charred, semi-charred and uncharred samples. Moisture content and density were measured gravimetrically, while porosity was evaluated using mercury intrusion porosimetry. Hardness was assessed using a modified Janka test and a penetrometer. The results obtained showed that differences in chemistry were highly correlated to the physico-mechanical properties of the timbers. The charred wood presented the lowest moisture content, shrinkage and porosity among the three charring conditions and it also had the highest density, Janka hardness and resistance to penetration. The exact reverse properties were recorded for the uncharred material, which was typical of badly preserved, waterlogged wood. The semi-charred wood presented transitional features. These results indicate that the uncharred wood is in need of consolidation, in contrast to the charred and semi-charred material, which may be left to air-dry untreated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waterlogged Archaeological Woods)
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17 pages, 11312 KiB  
Article
Scanning Electron Microscopy Protocol for Studying Anatomy of Highly Degraded Waterlogged Archaeological Wood
by Angela Balzano, Maks Merela and Katarina Čufar
Forests 2022, 13(2), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020161 - 21 Jan 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4607
Abstract
Waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW), approximately 4500 years old, from the prehistoric pile-dwelling settlement at Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia, was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We propose a simplified protocol for sample preparation and the SEM technique for the study of highly degraded WAW [...] Read more.
Waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW), approximately 4500 years old, from the prehistoric pile-dwelling settlement at Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia, was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We propose a simplified protocol for sample preparation and the SEM technique for the study of highly degraded WAW of Quercus, Faxinus, Acer, Salix and Populus, representing taxa with different wood properties. We present the advantages of the proposed technique for wood identification, the observation of various anatomical features and for the study of cell wall degradation. SEM, equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), allowed us to detect significant amounts of Fe, S and Ca with different appearances, amounts and distributions in the wood of the studied taxa. In the case of Populus, an increased amount of Si was also detected. The applied SEM protocol allowed characterisation of the anatomy of the highly degraded WAW while reducing the time required for sample preparation and examination under the microscope, as well as extending the lifetime of the SEM components (e.g., tungsten filament), compared to the situation when we analyse wood samples with a greater volume. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waterlogged Archaeological Woods)
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15 pages, 3610 KiB  
Article
A Quasi-Nondestructive Evaluation Method for Physical-Mechanical Properties of Fragile Archaeological Wood with TMA: A Case Study of an 800-Year-Old Shipwreck
by Mengruo Wu, Xiangna Han, Zhenfang Qin, Zhiguo Zhang, Guanglan Xi and Liuyang Han
Forests 2022, 13(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13010038 - 01 Jan 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2060
Abstract
Archaeological wood is a kind of ‘new material’ that has deteriorated due to long-term degradation. The existing wood science theory and evaluation methods are not fully applicable to archaeological wood. Moreover, current physical-mechanical evaluation methods are inadequate for fragile archaeological wood due to [...] Read more.
Archaeological wood is a kind of ‘new material’ that has deteriorated due to long-term degradation. The existing wood science theory and evaluation methods are not fully applicable to archaeological wood. Moreover, current physical-mechanical evaluation methods are inadequate for fragile archaeological wood due to their insufficient accuracy and the large sample amount required, causing difficulties in many necessary physical-mechanical repeatability tests. In light of these limitations, the representative samples on Nanhai No. 1, a merchant shipwreck in the Song Dynasty, were selected as the research objects in this paper. The shipwreck is a typical waterlogged wooden artifact. A quasi-nondestructive physical-mechanical evaluation technique for archaeological wood was developed with the thermomechanical analyzer (TMA). This study used TMA to evaluate the bending strength of representative waterlogged archaeological samples of Nanhai No. 1 shipwreck and sound wood with the same species. Besides, the thermal linear expansion coefficients in the ambient temperature range were obtained. The sizes of the samples used in the tests were only 2 mm × 8 mm × 0.3 mm and 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm, respectively. Bending strength results of archaeological wood by the TMA method conformed to the tendency that the bending strength decreases with the increase of decay degree. In addition, the longitudinal linear expansion coefficients of archaeological wood reached 80%–115% of those in the transverse grain direction, which were about 10 times higher than those of the sound wood. The linear expansion coefficients of archaeological wood in three directions were similar. Based on the results of Fourier transform infrared analysis (FT-IR), the significant differences in the physical-mechanical properties of the archaeological wood and the sound wood were induced to be mainly ascribed to the decomposition and the loss of hemicellulose in the archaeological wood. The cell wall substrate could not stabilize the cellulose skeleton, which led to the instability of the tracheid structure of the archaeological wood. This study provided a proven quasi-nondestructive method for the preservation state evaluation of waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW) from the Nanhai I shipwreck and other similar waterlogged wooden relics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waterlogged Archaeological Woods)
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Review

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22 pages, 10778 KiB  
Review
Chemical Characteristics of Wood Cell Wall with an Emphasis on Ultrastructure: A Mini-Review
by Xun Zhang, Li Li and Feng Xu
Forests 2022, 13(3), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13030439 - 10 Mar 2022
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6434
Abstract
Wood is complex in its chemical composition that has an important influence on its chemical behavior and mechanical strength. The complexity is reflected in the ultrastructure of the wood cell wall. In particular, the concentration of main components (cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin) changes [...] Read more.
Wood is complex in its chemical composition that has an important influence on its chemical behavior and mechanical strength. The complexity is reflected in the ultrastructure of the wood cell wall. In particular, the concentration of main components (cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin) changes depending on many factors such as the different type or parts of wood, and varies in different cell wall layers. From an ultrastructural standpoint, we describe the current level of knowledge about chemical characteristics of the wood cell walls. The information of distribution of main components in the cell walls of normal wood, reaction wood and water-logged archaeological wood, the cellulose microfibrils orientation, and the interactions between main components were presented based on the use of advanced techniques including transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, spectral imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance. In addition, the chemical changes of the wood cell wall during pretreatment are discussed. This mini-review not only provides a better understanding of wood chemistry, but also brings new insights into cell wall recalcitrance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waterlogged Archaeological Woods)
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23 pages, 8148 KiB  
Review
Advances in Understanding Microbial Deterioration of Buried and Waterlogged Archaeological Woods: A Review
by Adya P. Singh, Yoon Soo Kim and Ramesh R. Chavan
Forests 2022, 13(3), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13030394 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3149
Abstract
This review provides information on the advances made leading to an understanding of the micromorphological patterns produced during microbial degradation of lignified cell walls of buried and waterlogged archaeological woods. This knowledge not only serves as an important diagnostic signature for identifying the [...] Read more.
This review provides information on the advances made leading to an understanding of the micromorphological patterns produced during microbial degradation of lignified cell walls of buried and waterlogged archaeological woods. This knowledge not only serves as an important diagnostic signature for identifying the type(s) of microbial attacks present in such woods but also aids in the development of targeted methods for more effective preservation/restoration of wooden objects of historical and cultural importance. In this review, an outline of the chemical and ultrastructural characteristics of wood cell walls is first presented, which serves as a base for understanding the relationship of these characteristics to microbial degradation of lignocellulosic cell walls. The micromorphological patterns of the three different types of microbial attacks—soft rot, bacterial tunnelling and bacterial erosion—reported to be present in waterlogged woods are described. Then, the relevance of understanding microbial decay patterns to the preservation of waterlogged archaeological wooden artifacts is discussed, with a final section proposing research areas for future exploration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waterlogged Archaeological Woods)
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