Source Certain, in collaboration with World Forest ID (WFID), conducted a pilot program in late 2021 to determine how trace element analysis and stable isotope ratio analysis could be applied as complementary techniques to further support other global WFID projects. Kolombangara, Solomon Islands, was selected as the location for the pilot project/demonstration across Teak from this region.
The Details
Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group in the Solomon Islands nation-state. The circular island is a composite volcano measuring approximately 30km across and comprised of strata layers of hardened felsic lava. The Source Certain technical team devised a sampling regime for the island’s timber forests.
Authentic georeferenced samples of timber from Kolombangara were collected by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and supplied to Source Certain with a request to evaluate whether trace element analysis could be used to assess differences present in the elemental composition of the timber and to establish discrete geographical origin determination of the timber samples.
Differences observed across the island could enable granular provenance identification of timber material. Particular attention was paid to site differentiation by distance and by altitude.
Outcomes
The results from this pilot program are promising with the data suggesting trace element analysis is fit for purpose for the analysis and specific origin determination of timber. The technology could provide an ability to confirm a more specific regional origin for FSC timber from Kolombangara Island. Moreover, it also appears possible that this origin determination is not only for a region of an island but also for a particular altitude bracket. Further samples would be needed across other islands within the archipelago to determine if the underlying geology gives rise to generic Solomon Islands ‘fingerprint’.
Approximately 108 drill samples of teak wood were collected from six regions arbitrarily designated on Kolombangara Island.
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