Abstract

The aim of this study was to find chemical or physical properties of Siberian larch heartwood timber that correlate with the variation in decay resistance. Juvenile heartwood from 24-year-old grafts of 15 clones was exposed to three brown-rot fungi according to the standard in vitro decay test ( European standard EN 113). The mass losses caused by the brown rot fungi Coniophora puteana, Poria placenta, and Gloeophyllum trabeum were 20%, 28% and 17% of the dry mass, respectively. The average mass loss over the three fungi had a strong negative correlation with the concentration of taxifolin (r = -0.673, P = 0.006), as well as with the concentration of total phenolics determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay (r = -0.677, P = 0.006). Thus, the concentration of flavonoids is a promising property for indirect measurement of the decay resistance of Siberian larch timber. The most abundant heartwood extractives, arabinogalactans, had a non-significant relationship with the decay resistance, but their concentration correlated positively with the capacity of the wood to adsorb water (r = 0.736, P = 0.002). The hygroscopic properties of the wood or the wood density were not associated with the decay resistance

Published in

Holzforschung
2006, Volume: 60, number: 1, pages: 99-103
Publisher: WALTER DE GRUYTER & CO

SLU Authors

• Terziev, Nasko

  • Department of Forest Products, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/HF.2006.017

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/9603