SWIR spectra of basidiomycete decay of Scots pine

The research question was whether SWIR hyperspectral measurements can be used to characterize wood that has, to different degrees, been depolymerized by decay fungi and if it is possible to differentiate between brown rot and white rot decay i.e., two different wood depolymerization mechanisms.

The experiment has a total of 80 wood specimens of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) with dimensions 20x20x5 mm:
- 16 reference (no fungus)
- 32 with brown rot decay fungus: Rhodonia placenta (Fr.) Niemelä, K.H. Larss. & Schigel, strain FPRL 280
- 32 with white rot decay fungus: Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd, strain CTB 863 A

The level of decay is measured by the mass loss percentage, which is determined per specimen. There is a harvest every two weeks for a period of 16 weeks, i.e. 8 different decay periods, with 10 samples per period. (2 ref, 4 brown, 4 white).

One hyperspectral image of the front side and one hyperspectral image of the back side of the specimens was recorded. Two datasets were created from the hyperspectral images: The first dataset consists of one spectrum for each specimen and consists of 80 spectra. The second dataset consists of one spectrum for each image and therefore consists of 160 spectra.

Each dataset is in a separate MATLAB file. The description of the data sets is in the enclosed README file.