Current Research

Botanical wood anatomy

• Evolution of wood anatomical diversity
• Wood anatomical flood response to seasonal inundation

• Machine-vision wood identification with the XyloTron
  • Commercial woods of Mozambique
  • CITES-woods
  • Dalbergia and Pterocarpus
  • North American hardwoods
  • Commercial woods of Ghana
  • Commercial woods of Colombia
  • Commercial woods of Peru
• Further develop organellar microcapture for trace evidence

• Practical methods to determine dimensional change coefficients for the flooring industry
• Characterization of wood phenotype, including figure, in naturally occurring tree mutants (Populus, Prunus, Acer)

• Product claim verification in forest products supply chains and improved monitoring and determination of best practices
• Identification and dating of the wooden cultural patrimony of the Taino people

Research Interests

• Elucidate the evolutionary interplay between ecology and phylogeny in wood anatomy as determinants of structure-function of trees, shrubs, and lianas.
• Conduct foundational research and develop tools and methods to improve the ability of the wood industry to comply with - and law enforcement to apply - laws governing illegal logging.
• Improve the use and utility of wood as a material by researching the biological origins of fundamental wood properties at the mesoscale and how they influence wood behavior in a range of contexts.

Past Research

• Systematic wood anatomy
• Traditional wood identification
• Anatomical aspects of early wood colonization by wood decay fungi
• Wood-finish and wood-adhesive interactions

Why This Research is Important

Wood is a fundamental part of human material culture going back to prehistory.  We have used it for tools, for fuel, for shelter, and even (a surprise to many) for food.  Understanding the biological origins of wood provides a critical contextual framework for interpreting wood evolution, wood forensics, and the modern use of wood in its many forms.

Education

• University of Wisconsin at Madison, B.S. Department of Botany 1997
• University of Wisconsin at Madison, M.S. Department of Botany 2001
• University of Wisconsin at Madison, Ph.D. Department of Botany 2008

Professional Experience

Professional Organizations

• National Association of Floor Covering Technicians, Board Member (2020 - Current)
• International Academy of Wood Science, Elected Fellow (2018 - Current)
• International Association of Wood Anatomists, Deputy Executive Secretary (2018 - Current)
• International Association of Wood Anatomists, Member (2012 - present)
• International Association of Wood Anatomists, Associate Editor (2003 - present)
• International Association of Wood Anatomists, Editorial Board Member (2012 - 2017)
• International Association of Wood Anatomists, Exceutive Council Member (2012 - 2017)

Awards & Recognition

Featured Publications & Products

• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Simeone, John ; Smith, Amy ; Parker-Forney, Meaghan ; Soares, Richard ; Fishman, Akiva . 2019. Fraud and misrepresentation in retail forest products exceeds U.S forensic wood science capacity.
• Ravindran, Prabu; Ebanyenle, Emmanuel; Ebeheakey, Alberta Asi; Abban, Kofi Bonsu; Lambog, Ophilious; Soares, Richard; Costa, Adriana; Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2019. Image based identification of Ghanaian timbers using the XyloTron: opportunities, risks and challenges.
• Ravindran, Prabu ; Costa, Adriana ; Soares, Richard ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2018. Classification of CITES-listed and other neotropical Meliaceae wood images using convolutional neural networks.
• Hermanson, John C.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2011. A brief review of machine vision in the context of automated wood identification systems.
• Jiao, Lichao ; Yu, Min ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; He, Tuo ; Li, Jianing ; Liu, Bo ; Jiang, Xiaomei ; Yin, Yafang . 2018. DNA barcode authentication and library development for the wood of six commercial Pterocarpus species: the critical role of xylarium specimens.
• Arévalo, Rafael; van Ee, Benjamin W.; Riina, Ricarda; Berry, Paul E.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2017. Force of habit: shrubs, trees and contingent evolution of wood anatomical diversity using Croton (Euphorbiaceae) as a model system.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Arévalo, Rafael; Ledbetter, Craig; Jakes, Joseph E. 2016. Structure property characterization of the crinkle-leaf peach wood phenotype: a future model system for wood properties research.
• Zelinka, Samuel L.; Bourne, Keith J.; Hermanson, John C.; Glass, Samuel V.; Costa, Adriana; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2015. Force-displacement measurements of earlywood bordered pits using a mesomechanical tester.
• Fan, Youran; Rupert, Kendal; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Woeste, Keith; Lexer, Christian; Meilan, Richard. 2013. Figured grain in aspen is heritable and not affected by graft-transmissible signals.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2006. Wood evidence : proper collection, documentation, and storage of wood evidence from a crime scene.

Publications

• Ravindran, Prabu ; Owens, Frank C.; Wade, Adam C.; Vega, Patricia ; Montenegro, Rolando ; Shmulsky, Rubin ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2021. Field-Deployable Computer Vision Wood Identification of Peruvian Timbers.
• Arévalo B., Rafael E.; Pulido R., Esperanza N.; Solórzano G., Juan F.; Soares, Richard ; Ruffinatto, Flavio ; Ravindran, Prabu ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2021. Imaged based identification of Colombian timbers using the XyloTron: A proof of concept international partnership.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Eberhardt, Thomas. 2021. Structure and function of wood.
• Ravindran, Prabu ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2020. Comparison of two forensic wood identification technologies for ten Meliaceae woods: computer vision versus mass spectrometry.
• Arevalo, Rafael ; Ebanyenle, Emmanuel ; Ebeheakey, Alberta Asi; Bonsu, Kofi Abban; Lambog, Ophilious ; Soares, Richard ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2020. Field identification manual for Ghanaian timbers.
• Beeckman, H. ; Jolivet-Blanc, C. ; Boeschoten, L. ; Braga, J.W.B. ; Cabezas, J.A. ; Chaix, G. ; Crameri, S. ; Degen, B. ; Deklerck, V. ; Dormontt, E. ; Espinoza, E. ; Gasson, P. ; Haag, V. ; Helmling, S. ; Horacek, M. ; Koch, G. ; Lancaster, C. ; Lens, F. ; Lowe, A. ; Martinez-Jarquin, S. ; Nowakowska, J.A. ; Olbrich, A. ; Paredes-Villanueva, K. ; Pastore, T.C.M. ; Ramananantoandro, T. ; Razafimahatratra, A.R. ; Ravindran, P. ; Rees, G. ; Soares, L.F. ; Tysklind, N. ; Vlam, M. ; Watkinson, C. ; Wheeler, E. ; Winkler, R. ; Wiedenhoeft, A.C. ; Zemke, V.Th ; Zuidema, P. . 2020. Overview of current practices in data analysis for wood identification: a guide for the different timber tracking methods..
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2020. The XyloPhone: toward democratizing access to high-quality macroscopic imaging for wood and other substrates.
• Ravindran, Prabu ; Thompson, Blaise J.; Soares, Richard K.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2020. The XyloTron: flexible, open-source, image-based macroscopic field identification of wood products.
• Vega, Patricia T.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2020. Wood species toxicity.
• He, Tuo ; Marco, João ; Soares, Richard ; Yin, Yafang ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex . 2019. Machine Learning Models with Quantitative Wood Anatomy Data Can Discriminate between Swietenia macrophylla and Swietenia mahagoni.
• He, Tuo ; Jiao, Lichao ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Yin, Yafang . 2019. Machine learning approaches outperform distance- and tree-based methods for DNA barcoding of Pterocarpus wood.
• Hermanson, John C.; Dostal, David ; Destree, Joseph C.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2019. The XyloScope A field-deployable macroscopic digital imaging device for wood.
• Zhang, Maomao ; Zhao, Guangjie ; Guo, Juan ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Liu, Charles C.; Yin, Yafang . 2019. Timber species identification from chemical fingerprints using direct analysis in real time (DART) coupled to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS): comparison of wood samples subjected to different treatments.
• Snel, Filipe A.; Braga, Jez W. B.; da Silva, Diego ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Costa, Adriana ; Soares, Richard ; Coradin, Vera T. R.; Pastore, Tereza C. M. 2018. Potential field-deployable NIRS identification of seven Dalbergia species listed by CITES.
• Ostapkowicz, Joanna ; Roberts, Alison ; Thistlewood, Jevon ; Brock, Fiona ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Snoeck, Chrostophe ; Schulting, Rick ; Bray, Warwick . 2018. The origins of Tradescant s India Occidentali wooden clubs: 14C dating, material identification and strontium isotope studies.
• Ostapkowicz, Joanna ; Brock, Fiona ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Snoeck, Christophe ; Pouncett, John ; Baksh-Comeau, Yasmin ; Schulting, Rick ; Claeys, Philippe ; Mattielli, Nadine ; Richards, Mike ; Boomert, Arie . 2017. Black pitch, carved histories: radiocarbon dating, wood species identification and strontium isotope analysis of prehistoric wood carvings from Trinidad s Pitch Lake.
• Yu, Min; Jiao, Lichao; Guo, Juan; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; He, Tuo; Jiang, Xiaomei; Yin, Yafang. 2017. DNA barcoding of vouchered xylarium wood specimens of nine endangered Dalbergia species.
• Ostapkowicz, Joanna; Brock, Fiona; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Schulting, Rick; Saviola, Donatella. 2017. Integrating the old world into the new: an idol from the West Indies.
• Brock, Fiona ; Ostapkowicz, Joanna ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Bull, Ian D. 2017. Radiocarbon dating wooden carvings and skeletal remains from Pitch Lake, Trinidad.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex . 2016. Best practice guide for forensic timber identification.
• Marcati, Carmen R.; Machado, Silvia R.; Podadera, Diego Sotto; Lara, Natalia O. Totti de; Bosio, Fabio; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2016. Cambial activity in dry and rainy season on branches from woody species growing in Brazilian Cerrado.
• Zelinka, Samuel L.; Passarini, Leandro; Colon Quintana, José L.; Glass, Samuel V.; Jakes, Joseph E.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2016. Cell wall domain and moisture content influence southern pine electrical conductivity.
• Ruffinatto, Flavio; Crivellaro, Alan; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2016. Lista dei caratteri macroscopici per l identificazione dei legni.
• Bergo, Maria C.J.; Pastore, Tereza C.M.; Coradin, Vera T.R.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Braga, Jez W.B. 2016. NIRS Identification of Swietenia Macrophylla is Robust Across Specimens from 27 Countries.
• Jakes, Joseph E.; Arzola, Xavier; Bergman, Richard; Ciesielski, Peter; Hunt, Christopher G.; Rahbar, Nima; Tshabalala, Mandla; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Zelinka, Samuel L. 2016. Not just lumber--Using wood in the sustainable future of materials, chemicals, and fuels.
• Lowe, Andrew J.; Dormontt, Eleanor E.; Bowie, Matthew J.; Degen, Bernd ; Gardner, Shelley ; Thomas, Darren ; Clarke, Caitlin ; Rimbawanto, Anto ; Wiedenhoeft, Alex ; Yin, Yafang ; Sasaki, Nophea . 2016. Opportunities for improved transparency in the timber trade through scientific verification.
• Zelinka, Samuel L.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Glass, Samuel V.; Ruffinatto, Flavio. 2015. Anatomically informed mesoscale electrical impedance spectroscopy in southern pine and the electric field distribution for pin-type electric moisture metres.
• Dormontt, Eleanor E.; Boner, Markus; Braun, Birgit; Breulmann, Gerhard; Degen, Bernd; Espinoza, Edgard; Gardner, Shelley; Guillery, Phil; Hermanson, John C.; Koch, Gerald; Lee, Soon Leong; Kanashiro, Milton; Rimbawanto, Anto; Thomas, Darren; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Yin, Yafang; Zahnen, Johannes; Lowe, Andrew J. 2015. Forensic timber identification: It's time to integrate disciplines to combat illegal logging.
• Ruffinatto, Flavio; Crivellaro, Alan; Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2015. REVIEW OF MACROSCOPIC FEATURES FOR HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD IDENTIFICATION AND A PROPOSAL FOR A NEW CHARACTER LIST.
• Zelinka, Samuel L.; Quintana, José L. Colon; Glass, Samuel V.; Jakes, Joseph E.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2015. Subcellular Electrical Measurements as a Function of Wood Moisture Content.
• Panyushkina, Irina P.; Leavitt, Steven W.; Domack, Eugene W.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2015. Tree-Ring Investigation of Holocene Flood-Deposited Wood From the Oneida Lake Watershed, New York State.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2014. Chapter 9: Curating xylaria.
• Marcati, Carmen Regina; Longo, Leandro Roberto; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Barros, Claudia Franca. 2014. Comparative wood anatomy of root and stem of Citharexylum myrianthum (Verbenaceae).
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Kretschmann, David E. 2014. Species Identification and Design Value Estimation of Wooden Members in Covered Bridges.
• Ostapkowicz, Joanna; Bronk-Ramsey, Christopher; Brock, Fiona; Higham, Tom; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Ribechini, Erika; Lucejko, Jeannette J.; Wilson, Samuel. 2012. Chronologies in wood and resin: AMS 14C dating of pre-Hispanic Caribbean Wood Sculpture.
• Zelinka, Samuel L.; Lambrecht, Michael J.; Glass, Samuel V.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Yelle, Daniel J. 2012. Examination of water phase transitions in Loblolly pine and cell wall components by differential scanning calorimetry.
• Brock, Fiona; Ostapkowicz, Joanna; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Cartwright, Caroline. 2012. Paired dating of pith and outer edge (terminus) samples from prehispanic Caribbean wooden sculptures.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2012. Structure and Function of Wood.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Chapter 01: Wood identification and pattern recognition.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Chapter 02: Basic wood biology Anatomy for identification.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Chapter 03: Correct use of a hand lens.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Chapter 04: Bloodless wood specimen preparation for hand lens observation.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Chapter 05: Basic characters used in the identification of wood with a hand lens.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Chapter 06: Identification key.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2011. Chapter 07: Species description pages.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2011. Chapter 08: Comments on, and additional information for, wood identification.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2011. Identification of Central American Woods/de las Especies Maderables de Centroamerica.
• Ostapkowicz, Joanna; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Ribechini, Erika; Wilson, Samuel; Brock, Fiona; Higham, Tom. 2011. Treasures ... of black wood, brilliantly polished : five examples of Taino sculpture from the tenth-sixteenth century Caribbean..
• Haack, Robert A.; Petrice, Toby R.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2010. Incidence of bark- and wood-boring insects in firewood: a survey at Michigan's Mackinac Bridge.
• Moon, Robert J.; Wells, Joseph; Kretschmann, David E.; Evans, James; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Frihart, Charles R. 2010. Influence of chemical treatments on moisture-induced dimensional change and elastic modulus of earlywood and latewood.
• Riina, Ricarda; van Ee, Benjamin; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Cardozo, Alfonso; Berry, Paul E. 2010. Sectional rearrangement of arborescent clades of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) in South America : evolution of arillate seeds and a new species, Croton domatifer.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2010. Structure and function of wood.
• Burke, Edward; Slavik, Norm; Bonura, Tony; Connelly, Dennis; Faris, Tom; Nebelsick, Arnie; Stuart, Brent; Williams, Sam; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2010. Understanding extractive bleed : wood extractives: distribution, properties, and classes.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Riina, Ricarda; Berry, Paul E. 2009. "Ray-intrusive" laticifers in species of Croton section Cyclostigma (Euphorbiaceae).
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2009. Biocentricity and economy of scale : hypothesis (and product) testing when wood is a part of an experimental system evaluating durability.
• Burke, Edward; Bonura, Tony; Carll, Charles G.; Connelly, Dennis; Hunt, Christopher; Mall, Doug; Nebelsick, Arnie; Slavik, Norm; Stuart, Brent; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Williams, R. Sam. 2009. Improving the performance of painted wood siding : rain screen, end-grain seal, and back priming.
• Frihart, Charles R.; Yelle, Daniel J.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2008. What does moisture-related durability of wood bonds mean.
• Sheppard, Paul R.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex. 2007. An advancement in removing extraneous color from wood for low-magnification reflected-light image analysis of conifer tree rings.
• Carll, Charles G.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2007. Mechanical property loss and the occurrence of wood decay during experimental outdoor aging of wood based panels.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2007. The central role of wood biology in understanding the durability of wood-coating interactions.
• Hunter, R. Douglas; Panyushkina, Irina P.; Leavitt, Steven W.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Zawiskie, John. 2006. A multiproxy environmental investigation of Holocene wood from a submerged conifer forest in Lake Huron, USA.
• Leavitt, Steven W.; Panyushkina, Irina P.; Lange, Todd; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Cheng, Li; Hunter, R. Douglas; Hughes, John; Pranschke, Frank; Schneider, Allan F.; Moran, Joseph; Stieglitz, Ron. 2006. Climate in the Great Lakes Region between 14,000 and 4000 years ago from isotopic composition of conifer wood.
• Berry, Paul E.; Cordeiro, Ines; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Vitorino-Cruz, Maria Amelia; Lima, Leticia Ribes de. 2005. Brasiliocroton : a new crotonoid genus of Euphorbiaceae s.s. from eastern Brazil.
• Ward, Joy K.; Harris, John M.; Cerling, Thure E.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Lott, Michael J.; Dearing, Maria-Denise; Coltrain, Joan B.; Ehleringer, James R. 2005. Carbon starvation in glacial trees recovered from the La Brea tar pits, southern California.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Miller, Regis B. 2005. Structure and function of wood.
• Berry, Paul E.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C. 2004. Micrandra inundata (Euphorbiaceae), a new species with unusual wood anatomy from black-water river banks in southern Venezuela.
• Panyushkina, Irina P.; Leavitt, Steven W.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Noggle, Sarah; Curry, Brandon; Grimm, Eric. 2004. Tree-ring records of near-Younger Dryas time in central North America : preliminary results from the Lincoln Quarry site, central Illinois, USA.
• Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Miller, Regis B.; Theim, Terra J. 2003. Analysis of three microscopic characters for separating the wood of Pinus contorta and P. ponderosa.
• Miller, Regis B.; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Williams, R. Sam; Stockman, Willy; Green, Frederick. 2003. Characteristics of ten tropical hardwoods from certified forests in Bolivia. Part II, Natural durability to decay fungi.
• Hunt, Chris; Wiedenhoeft, Alex; Horn, Eric; Houtman, Carl. 2001. Evaluation of physical changes in wood during colonization by Ceriporiopsis submervispora.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
FPL-2010-001	Centennial Edition, Wood Handbook—Wood as an Engineering Material The Wood Handbook—Wood as an Engineering Material serves as a primary reference document for a wide variety of users-from the general publ ...	2010
FPL-2020-115	Field-Portable XyloTron Outperforms Laboratory-Based DART Mass Spectrometry Wood Identification For Mahogany Family Imagine you are inspecting a wood shipment and you suspect someone is smuggling mahogany, an endangered species. You could remove a small specim ...	2020
FPL-2019-82	Fraud in U.S. Retail Forest Products and Forensic Capacity Fraud and misrepresentation in U.S. retail forest products greatly exceeds the forensic capacity to combat it.	2019
FPL-2018-26	Machine Vision Wood Identification of Endangered Tropical Woods Field identification of wood (screening) is the first step in a forensic workflow to combat illegal logging. Similarly, industries interested in ...	2018
FPL-2014-185	The Xylotron: A Field-Deployable Machine-Vision Wood Identification System The Xylotron is a machine-vision-based wood identification system that uses a custom-designed wood imaging device (the Xyloscope), image analysi ...	2014