In this master thesis, we microscopically identified and described six invasive wood species, all from the city of Ljubljana. The species were: japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii L.), butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii Franch.), red-osier (Cornus sericea L.), amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim.), cherry laurel (Prunus lurocerasus L.) and staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina L.). The research material was gathered within the project APPLAUSE. All six chosen wood species were dendrological identified before they were cut down. The chosen wood species have a small wood stock, as all but Rhus typhina have a form of a bush. That is why macroscopic identification of their wood is difficult. We can only identify the plant by means of dendrology, and perform microscopic wood identification. Such identification is difficult, as the microscopic wood structure of the investigated species is usually not described in the literature. In this thesis the microscopic wood structure of the six selected species is described in detail. Furthermore, some additions are suggested to improve the available descriptions (IAWA features) on the web site of Inside Wood. Our microscopic descriptions are equipped with pictures obtained by the light microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM pictures serve as an addition to the ones obtained by light microscopy. For the investigated species we also gathered other available information, including their basic description and uses. Besides a commonly negative influence of the invasive species on natural environments, there exists great possibility to use them and their specific components, for medical purposes. Such potential uses will be researched on a pilot level within other segments of the APPLAUSE project.
|