TROPIX Online: database on the technological characteristics of tropical timber

Analysis-diagnosis service Natural resources and territories

Access the main technological characteristics of more than 310 tropical and temperate tree species through an online application developed by CIRAD with support from ITTO.

Tropix online application homepage
Tropix online application homepage

A reference database on tropical timber species

In the late 1980s, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), established in 1986, entrusted the Tropical Forestry Technical Centre (CTFT, now CIRAD’s forestry department) with the development of a software tool for managing technological characteristics of tropical timber.

This software was based on the CTFT “Tropical Timber” database, built from several decades of research. Its objective was to disseminate and popularise available knowledge among stakeholders in the wood sector and to promote the use of tropical timber, particularly lesser-known species.

Over time, the software evolved and was enriched with new species and characteristics. Released from the late 1990s under the name Tropix, it went through several versions, including version 7.5 published in 2015, presenting the technological characteristics of 245 species.

In parallel, the data were compiled into a reference publication, the Atlas of Tropical Timber, published in 2016 (French version) and 2017 (English version), describing 300 species and incorporating additional technological characteristics.

In the 2020s, due to the limitations of software updates, CIRAD initiated a transition towards an online application. A first internal version was developed, which later served as the basis for the Tropix Online application, released in 2025 with financial support from ITTO.

Features

The Tropix Online application presents the main technological characteristics and uses of more than 310 tropical (and temperate) timber species.

It provides access to the following data and information:

Botanical names and vernacular names by country of origin
Log characteristics: appearance, colour, and macroscopic wood structure
Main physical and mechanical properties
Natural durability and preservation: resistance to biological degradation agents (fungi, termites, insects), treatability, use classes, and treatment recommendations
Drying behaviour (indicative schedules)
Behaviour during sawing and machining, suitability for peeling or slicing, and joint performance
Commercial grading and any trade restrictions (CITES)
Reaction to fire
Main current or potential uses
Comparative table of key physico-mechanical properties

Each species is illustrated with a flat-sawn board image, a quarter-sawn board image, and an example of a finished wood product.

Stage Development

From tropical timber knowledge to decision support

The Tropix Online application offers three main functionalities:

Direct consultation of technological data and information on species
Multi-criteria search based on selected characteristics (advanced search)
Download of species technical datasheets

It also allows comparison of the properties of two species.

A reference tool for stakeholders in the forest-based sector

The Tropix Online application is designed as a reference tool for:

wood sector operators
research and academic institutions
public institutions
clients, architects, project managers and contracting authorities
all professionals involved in processing and using tropical timber

It builds on nearly 40 years of work carried out by CIRAD’s tropical timber team, with continuous support from ITTO.

How to access TROPIX Online

The application is freely accessible online : https://www.tropix-online.com/

It is part of an open science approach aimed at facilitating the dissemination and accessibility of technical and scientific knowledge.

Further developments are planned for 2026, including:

improvements to browsing features
reorganisation of information
integration of new images (including anatomical sections)
addition of new tropical species

The research team
The Wood team of the BioWooEB Research Unit at CIRAD specialises in tropical and Mediterranean timber. It supports stakeholders in the forest-based sector in France and in producing countries, including forest operators, processing companies (craft units, SMEs, industrial groups), architects, project managers, and consulting firms.
Originally responsible for the development of Tropix, CIRAD’s tropical timber team has driven its successive evolutions, from the initial software to the Atlas of Tropical Timber, and now to the Tropix Online application.

References and Intellectual Property :

Publications :

Paradis S., Guibal D., Gérard J., Beauchêne J., Brancheriau L., Cabantous B., Châlon I., Daigremont C., Détienne P., Fouquet D., Langbour P., Lotte S., Méjean C., Parant B., Thévenon M.F., Thibaut A., Vernay M., 2015. Tropix 7.5.1 - Caractéristiques technologiques de 245 essences tropicales et tempérées (Technological Characteristics of 215 Tropical Timbers). Logiciel de gestion de données, version française et anglaise, CIRAD, ISBN 978-2-87614-680-8, référencement APP : IDDN.FR.001.070032.002.S.P.2002.000.30615, http://tropix.cirad.fr/doi:10.18167/74726F706978

Paradis S., Guibal D., Vernay M., Beauchêne J., Brancheriau L., Châlon I., Daigremont C., Détienne P., Fouquet D., Langbour P., Lotte S., Méjean C., Thévenon M.-F., Thibaut A., Gérard J., 2013. Logiciel TROPIX version 7 - Les caractéristiques technologiques de 245 essences tropicales et tempérées. Poster – 2IE, 10-12 juin 2013, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Paradis S., Guibal D., Vernay M., Beauchêne J., Brancheriau L., Châlon I., Daigremont C., Détienne P., Fouquet D., Langbour P., Lotte S., Méjean C., Thévenon M.F., Thibaut A., Gérard J., 2012. Technological Characteristics of 245 Tropical and Temperate Timbers Species. IUFRO - All Division 5 “Forest Products” Conference, Estoril, Portugal, 9-13 July 2012, poster, p. 191.