Core business: X-ray CT toolchain for tree-ring analysis

Disentangling tree growth requires more than ring width only. Although X-ray densitometry is an established technique to determine key wood density parameters, tedious manual procedures hamper fast analyses. De Mil et al. present an X-ray computed tomography toolchain to enable high-throughput density profiling of large sets of increment cores.

The obtained 3D archive is analysed via software routines with which traditional tree-ring analysis, as well as semi-automated density-based pattern matching, can be performed. The toolchain allows fast assessment of newly sampled increment cores, without any surface treatment or visual inspection. This offers the opportunity for large-scale screening of lesser-studied tree species, and improving current chronologies with sub-annual density information.