Evaluation of the efficacy of micro-magnetic resonance imaging compared with light microscopy to investigate the anatomy of modern and ancient waterlogged wood

Light microscopy is the conventional method used to investigate wood anatomy, identify the wood taxon, and assess its conservation state. It generally requires the mechanical cut of thin sections from a sample to obtain informative images. When dealing with wooden artworks or ancient remains (e.g., archaeological waterlogged wood), it is important to avoid sample destruction. In this work the efficacy of micro-magnetic resonance imaging (μ-MRI) to investigate the anatomy of waterlogged wood is assessed in comparison with light microscopy. Images along the three anatomical directions (transverse, tangential and radial) of six modern wood species and one archaeological specimen of waterlogged wood (from the Neolithic site "La Marmotta") were obtained both by μ-MRI and light microscopy. μ-MRI images were acquired virtually selecting 2D slices along the three wood anatomical directions. A 3D reconstruction was derived from 2D μ-MRI images. Conventional light microscopy histology was obtained by manually cutting thin sections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which high-resolution MR images and light microscopy images of the three anatomical directions of seven wood species are compared. The non-destructive μ-MRI approach allows to investigate the 2D and 3D topological organization of the whole waterlogged wood sample up to a resolution of 8 μm. Although the optical microscope attains higher image resolutions and remains superior in the observation of wood diagnostic characters, multi-parametric μ-MRI provides physiological investigation complementary to light microscopy, giving information concerning both a single section and the whole volume of the sample. The presented study may represent a starting point for further improvements of μ-MRI techniques applied to the non-destructive investigation of waterlogged wood samples, especially those of interest for cultural heritage.