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Thailand contains two notable fossil forest regions. Pleistocene fluvial sediments in the Tak region in the northern highlands contain silicified trunks of large trees. Deposits in the Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand contain a multitude of wood fossils that span a probable age range of Miocene to Pleistocene. At Ban Tak fossil logs are primarily mineralized with crystalline quartz. Incomplete mineralization is characteristic of the Tak wood, with intercellular spaces commonly remaining open. The resulting permeability allows penetration of moisture, and allows introduction of microbes and the accumulation of clays, iron oxides, soluble salts and other materials that may cause discoloration and deterioration. Hydration swelling of these components results in stress. Excavation of the huge logs means that they occupy topographically low positions prone to flooding during the monsoon season. These factors make the fossils vulnerable to weathering. A variety of methods have been employed in attempts to reduce the damage, including the construction of various styles of shelters to protect the fossil logs from direct precipitation. At Khorat, compositions of individual specimens range from pure quartz and pure opal to mixtures of the two polymorphs. Many specimens are preserved indoors in the Khorat Fossil Museum in Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima District, both as indoor exhibits and as outdoor displays in a garden plaza. The environmental complexities at the Tak and Khorat fossil wood localities challenge conservators, but their creative attempts provide useful lessons for future preservation efforts. Our report describes the geologic setting and our research mineralogy of specimens at both localities, and discusses conservation strategies.

Fossil forests have world-wide distribution, commonly preserving mineralized wood that displays vivid hues and complex color patterns. However, the origin of petrified color has received little scientific attention. Color of silicified wood may be influenced by the presence of relict organic matter, but the most significant contribution comes from trace metals. This study reports quantitative analysis of trace metals in 35 silicified wood samples, determined using LA-ICP-MS spectrometry. The most important of these metals is Fe, which can produce a rainbow of hues depending on its abundance and oxidation state. Cr is the dominant colorant for bright green fossil wood from Arizona, USA and Zimbabwe, Africa. Complex color patterns result from the progressive nature of the fossilization process, which causes wood to have varying degrees of permeability during successive episodes of permineralization. These processes include simple diffusion, chromatographic separation, infiltration of groundwater along fractures and void spaces, and oxidation/reduction.

The 1895 discovery of a petrified tree near Clover Creek in south-central Idaho, USA, attracted worldwide attention and resulted in the naming of a new species of ancient oak, Quercinium pliocaenicum Schuster. For more than a century, the discovery has largely been forgotten, even though specimens reside in reputable museums. Reinvestigation of the locality in 2014/2015 resulted in newly-collected specimens and a wealth of new data. Optical microscopy confirms the cellular anatomy used for the original taxonomic study. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive electron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence microscopy reveal details of the mineralization, showing the presence of opal-CT as the primary component, with chalcedony as a lesser constituent. This mineralogy suggests petrifaction occurred in at least two stages, beginning with opalization of cellular tissue, leaving open vessels that became filled with chalcedony during a later mineralization episode. Clover Creek oak represents relict flora growing in a wetter climate before the uplift of the Cascade Range created a rain shadow that caused profound desertification of the inland Pacific Northwest.