Season 1, Episode 2
Combating Timber Theft through Wood Chemistry with Kristen Finch
In this episode of From the Field, learn why timber theft is more lucrative than Ivory Trade and how Kristen’s study could halt illegal logging in the future.
You'll Learn
The impacts of timber theft
How Kristen Finch started her academic career
Wildlife forensic science and what a wildlife crime looks like
The ins and outs of wood chemistry – DART Mass Spectrometry
Why trees are important and their impact on climate change and ecosystems
How we can identify legal wood available in the mass market
Links From the Episode:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Forensice Laboratory
About Kristen
ABOUT KRISTEN FINCH, PH.D CANDIDATE
Kristen Finch, a PhD Candidate in the Department of Boandny and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University, is committed to population diversification and the environmental factors that may contribute to population differentiation. Studying the Neotropical tree, Cedrela odorata (Cedro; Spanish Cedar; Meliaceae), Kristen uses genomics and bioinformatics to assess variation within and among regional groups of Cedrela odorata and correlate genetic variation with geography, temperature, and precipitation. The practical application of my dissertation research will be two SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) arrays: one for the identification of the geographic origin of Cedrela odorata specimens and one for the taxonomic identification of Cedrela timbers. A SNP array for timber screening of Cedrela spp. is desirable because three Cedrela species are listed on CITES APPENDIX III, which prohibits harvest and trade in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru. Kristen is passionate about forest conservation, and hopes that her current work may provide useful information regarding the enforcement timber trade regulations.
Kristen with Spanish Cedar at NYBG
Dart-TOFMS Wood Sample
Kristen Sampling Leaves of Douglas Fir
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