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Non-destructive detection of the heartwood-sapwood barrier

By Mark Eltom, September 2019.

Download SWP-T088 (pdf)

Executive summary

This study examined the feasibility of using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging to identify the heartwood-sapwood barrier in trees (Eucalyptus globoidea, Eucalyptus bosistoana and Cupressus ovensii). The dielectric properties measured of the heartwood and sapwood for each species demonstrated sufficient variation to alter the behaviour of the radar frequencies used. A SAR system was used combined with custom build code and software.

The SAR system was successful in detecting the amount of heartwood present in a tree cross section to within 2.2% accuracy, when compared to using a ruler and physically measuring the cross section. The SAR system was also able to determine the distance from the edge of the tree to the heartwood. These results are promising and would need to be verified across a larger sample size.

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