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Measurement of Elemental Compositions of Selected Tropical Wood Species – a Case Study of Pra Anum Forest, Ghana

Received: 19 March 2015     Accepted: 7 April 2015     Published: 4 May 2015
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Abstract

The elemental compositions and concentration of major and minor trace elements of twenty (20) tropical hardwoods from the environmental site of Pra Anum forest (longitudes 1o 12’ and 1o 15’ W; latitude 6o 14’ and 6o 20’ N) were determined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). The investigation covered samples from the immediate vicinity of the soil in which the woods were grown, the root, stem and the leaf segments of the wood species. A total of seven major trace elements (Al, Mg, Ca, K, Na, Cl, Na) and two minor trace elements (Br, La) were identified. The concentrations of all the elements were found to be generally highest in the leaves (> 10,000 ppm) of all the wood species. Ca and K were found in highest concentration levels in the stem (> 500 ppm) of the wood species, Albizia zygia, Morinda lucida and Stromboria glaucescens. In the root, Ca and K were found comparatively high (> 500 ppm) in Daniellia ogeafaro, Albizia zygia, Morinda lucida and Stromboria glaucescens. There were anomalous cases of certain wood species having greater concentrations of trace elements in their parts than that measured in the soils. The concentrations of Ca in Albizia zygia and Morinda lucida were found to be on the average, constant for the roots, stems and leaves.

Published in International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11
Page(s) 34-43
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hardwood, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), Trace Elements

References
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[18] Sakina, M. Y.,Alia, E. A. R.,Gihan, O.M. E., andAbdelhafeez, M.A. M., (2013). Elemental Analysis of Ten Sudanese Medicinal Plants Using X-ray Fluorescence. Journal of Applied and Industrial Sciences, April 2013, 1(1):49-53.
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  • APA Style

    S. Aggrey-Smith, K. Preko, F. Wilson, J. Gbadago. (2015). Measurement of Elemental Compositions of Selected Tropical Wood Species – a Case Study of Pra Anum Forest, Ghana. International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering, 3(3), 34-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11

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    ACS Style

    S. Aggrey-Smith; K. Preko; F. Wilson; J. Gbadago. Measurement of Elemental Compositions of Selected Tropical Wood Species – a Case Study of Pra Anum Forest, Ghana. Int. J. Biomed. Sci. Eng. 2015, 3(3), 34-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11

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    AMA Style

    S. Aggrey-Smith, K. Preko, F. Wilson, J. Gbadago. Measurement of Elemental Compositions of Selected Tropical Wood Species – a Case Study of Pra Anum Forest, Ghana. Int J Biomed Sci Eng. 2015;3(3):34-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11,
      author = {S. Aggrey-Smith and K. Preko and F. Wilson and J. Gbadago},
      title = {Measurement of Elemental Compositions of Selected Tropical Wood Species – a Case Study of Pra Anum Forest, Ghana},
      journal = {International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering},
      volume = {3},
      number = {3},
      pages = {34-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijbse.20150303.11},
      abstract = {The elemental compositions and concentration of major and minor trace elements of twenty (20) tropical hardwoods from the environmental site of Pra Anum forest (longitudes 1o 12’ and 1o 15’ W; latitude 6o 14’ and 6o 20’ N) were determined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). The investigation covered samples from the immediate vicinity of the soil in which the woods were grown, the root, stem and the leaf segments of the wood species. A total of seven major trace elements (Al, Mg, Ca, K, Na, Cl, Na) and two minor trace elements (Br, La) were identified. The concentrations of all the elements were found to be generally highest in the leaves (> 10,000 ppm) of all the wood species. Ca and K were found in highest concentration levels in the stem (> 500 ppm) of the wood species, Albizia zygia, Morinda lucida and Stromboria glaucescens. In the root, Ca and K were found comparatively high (> 500 ppm) in Daniellia ogeafaro, Albizia zygia, Morinda lucida and Stromboria glaucescens. There were anomalous cases of certain wood species having greater concentrations of trace elements in their parts than that measured in the soils. The concentrations of Ca in Albizia zygia and Morinda lucida were found to be on the average, constant for the roots, stems and leaves.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Measurement of Elemental Compositions of Selected Tropical Wood Species – a Case Study of Pra Anum Forest, Ghana
    AU  - S. Aggrey-Smith
    AU  - K. Preko
    AU  - F. Wilson
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11
    T2  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    JF  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    SP  - 34
    EP  - 43
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7235
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20150303.11
    AB  - The elemental compositions and concentration of major and minor trace elements of twenty (20) tropical hardwoods from the environmental site of Pra Anum forest (longitudes 1o 12’ and 1o 15’ W; latitude 6o 14’ and 6o 20’ N) were determined using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). The investigation covered samples from the immediate vicinity of the soil in which the woods were grown, the root, stem and the leaf segments of the wood species. A total of seven major trace elements (Al, Mg, Ca, K, Na, Cl, Na) and two minor trace elements (Br, La) were identified. The concentrations of all the elements were found to be generally highest in the leaves (> 10,000 ppm) of all the wood species. Ca and K were found in highest concentration levels in the stem (> 500 ppm) of the wood species, Albizia zygia, Morinda lucida and Stromboria glaucescens. In the root, Ca and K were found comparatively high (> 500 ppm) in Daniellia ogeafaro, Albizia zygia, Morinda lucida and Stromboria glaucescens. There were anomalous cases of certain wood species having greater concentrations of trace elements in their parts than that measured in the soils. The concentrations of Ca in Albizia zygia and Morinda lucida were found to be on the average, constant for the roots, stems and leaves.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

  • Department of Physics, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

  • Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Fumesua, Kumasi, Ghana

  • National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Kwabenya, Accra, Ghana

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