Resistance of European and hybrid aspen wood against two brown-rot fungi

Abstract

The decay resistance of European (Populus tremula L.) and hybrid (P. tremula x tremuloides) aspen wood against brown-rot fungi was investigated after three different treatments, i.e. conventional drying, press drying and heat treatment. For both aspen species, the mass loss after exposure to Gloeophyllum trabeum was higher than after exposure to Coniophora puteana, regardless of the wood treatment. Conventionally and press dried aspen wood had similar mass losses. However, heat treatment appears to be an effective method to improve the decay resistance of aspen wood, reducing the mass loss by about 30% compared with conventional and press drying. As a function of mass loss, wood exposed to G. trabeum had lower moisture content than wood exposed to C. puteana. This is thought to be due to differences in the degradation pattern between the two brown-rot fungi. On the other hand, European aspen appears to be slightly more resistant to decay than hybrid aspen.