Variations in wood microstructure correlated with iron ore mining

This book is the outcome of a novel and exhaustive research work carried out on twenty-two hardwood tree species growing in some of the oldest and largest iron ore mines of Odisha, India. The wood samples collected from such species were analyzed for its anatomical features and compared with the standard microstructure of the same species from relatively undisturbed area to observe the impact of constant mining stress on the internal structure of wood of such tree species. The control samples were collected from the Xylarium (DDw) of Forest Research Institute (Deemed) University, Dehradun as well as from the forest areas of Jharkhand. Techniques such as microtomy, maceration, electron microscopy, spectrometry were employed in the comparison of features over different criteria which led to the shortlisting of species that are adaptive and tolerant to the stress conditions. The germplasm of such species can be suitably utilized for reforestation programmes in the mining areas, which would restore the local ecosystem efficiently.