Southeast Region- Validating the Species and Origin of American Hardwoods

These two areas of work will be accomplished through the following activities: 1. Sample collection for the American Hardwoods WorldForestID project: We will sample a minimum of 1000 trees (2 wood samples/tree) of the following species using the World Forest ID sampling protocol and wood collection procedures (with precise number of samples and species to be collected to be determined at a later planning meeting with WorldForestID and partners): • Red oak (Quercus rubra) • White oak (Quercus alba) • Tulip/yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) • Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) • Ash (Fraxinus americana) • Aspen (Populus tremuloides) • Basswod (Tilia americana) • Beech (Fagus grandifolia) • Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) • Cherry (Prunus serotina) • Walnut (Juglans nigra) This process will involve: • Securing sampling permits • Aquiring and maintaining sampling tools (as needed) • Creating sampling kits • Field sample collection and reporting in WorldForestID app • Drying and shipping samples to WorldForest ID partners Sampling will be broken down into a number of trees from each FIA region with sampling procedure and density to be established at initial planning meeting in the fall of 2022. The number of samples and distribution of samples sites will be established based on what is required to be able to identify origin of products using stable isotope ratio analysis and other techniques. Sample GPS location and information will be collected through the World Forest ID phone app. Wood samples will be shipped following World Forest ID operating procedures to the Wood Identification and Screening Center in Oregon. This will provide scientists with the material they need to start building chemical reference databases of these species. 2. Participatation in workshops and trainings: We will: • Participate in initial training of samplers at a project initiation meeting on sample collection, preparation, and submission • Participate and provide input and feedback to World Forest ID and partnering scientists on sampling procedures and protocols. • Participate in project planning, designing protocols, providing input to scientists, identifying cost effective means to collecting samples