On September 24th, the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) officially approved the establishment of the 5.16.00 Wood identification Research Group. Researcher Yin Yafang of the Research Institute of Wood Industry served as the first Coordinator, and Professor Gerald Koch of the Thünen Institute, a German Federal Research Institute, and Dr. Tereza Pastore of the Forest Product Laboratory of the Brazilian Forest Service served as associate coordinators.
The Research Group consists of three working groups: 5.16.01 Wood Collections and Databases, 5.16.02 Anatomical Identification of Wood and 5.16.03 Multidisciplinary Identification of Wood. A total of 11 working groups coordinators from research institutes of 9 countries including the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium, Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew Gardens), Forest Products Research and Development Center of the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Research Institute Malaysia and Oregon State University. Dr. Jiao Lichao and Dr. He Tuo from the Research Institute of Wood Industry were named the deputy coordinators of the 5.16.03 and 5.16.01 working groups.
As an important component of the Fifth Division (Forest Products Division) of IUFRO, the Wood Identification Research Group aims to promote academic exchanges and cooperation in the field of wood identification on a global scale. Through the establishment of a global wood specimen scientific database network system, sharing of wood identification data and information, promoting in-depth collaborations of researchers in wood science and related fields globally to jointly develop accurate wood identification technologies and tools, and achieve effective supervision of the wood industry chain and conservation of tree species diversity. The establishment of the Research Group is of great significance to promote the legal trade of timber and the sustainable development of the forest products industry globally.
The IUFRO will further strengthen its cooperation with international organizations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) through the 5.16.00 Wood Identification Research Group Cooperation and participate in the leading role in the development of global wood identification research and technological innovation. (Research Institute of Wood Industry)
