The Instituto del Legno has carried out for some years a series of trials about the biodeterioration of wood in the sea. The investigations included the settlement and activity of marine borers, the natural durability of indigenous and tropical woods and the preservation of wood for marine use. This paper reports the trials on the effectiveness of some preservatives in protecting wood against marine borer attack. The trials were carried out at Follonica station, where some investigations had shown that untreated pine samples submerged in the sea were totally destroyed by marine borers within 1 year. Follonica station, latitude 42° 55' North and longitude 10° 45' East, is situated on the Tyrrhenian sea. The recorded temperature varies between 12°C (January to March) to 25°C (July to September), salinity between 37 to 38% and pH about 8. The borers observed in wood were: Nototeredo norvagica Spengler, Bankia carinata Gray, Limnoria tripunctata Menzies and Chelura terebrans Philippi.

Download document (215 kb)
free for the members of IRG. Available if purchased.

Purchase this document