Partial Least Squares Analysis on Near-Infrared Absorbance Spectra by Air-dried Specific Gravity of Major Domestic Softwood Species

Research on the rapid and accurate prediction of physical properties of wood using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has attracted recent attention. In this study, partial least squares analysis was performed between NIR spectra and air-dried specific gravity of five domestic conifer species including larch (Larix kaempferi), Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), red pine (Pinus densiflora), cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), and cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Fifty different lumbers per species were purchased from the five National Forestry Cooperative Federations of Korea. The air-dried specific gravity of 100 knot- and defect-free specimens of each species was determined by NIR spectroscopy in the range of 680-2500 nm. Spectral data preprocessing including standard normal variate, detrend and forward first derivative (gap size = 8, smoothing = 8) were applied to all the NIR spectra of the specimens. Partial least squares analysis including cross-validation (five groups) was performed with the air-dried specific gravity and NIR spectra. When the performance of the regression model was expressed as $R^2$ (coefficient of determination) and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC), $R^2$ and RMSEC were 0.63 and 0.027 for larch, 0.68 and 0.033 for Korean pine, 0.62 and 0.033 for red pine, 0.76 and 0.022 for cedar, and 0.79 and 0.027 for cypress, respectively. For the calibration model, which contained all species in this study, the $R^2$ was 0.75 and the RMSEC was 0.37.