Unexpected natural decay resistance strategies of durable tropical woods Bocoa prouacencis, Vouacapoua americana, Inga alba and relationship with specific gravity and wood extractives

IRG/WP 14-10832

N Amusant, M Migg, B Thibaut, J Beauchene

The study of decay resistance in wood is of interest for wood end-users but also for the global carbon balance since wood biodegradation is a key driver of forest ecosystem functioning through its impacts on carbon and nutrient cycling. We studied the specific gravity and wood extractive contents in order to understand decay resistance against soil microflora after 90 days exposure of sapwood and heartwood from three Neotropical wood species known for their decay resistance: Bocoa prouacencis, Vouacapoua americana, Inga alba and Virola michelii. Decay resistance was correlated with specific gravity more than wood extractive content. The results highlighted different decay resistance strategies. In Bocoa prouacencis, both sapwood and heartwood were highly resistant due to the high specific gravity and the antifungal wood extractive. In Vouacapoua americana heartwood, decay resistance was due to the high synergistic-acting wood extractive content. Conversely, with the least dense wood species Inga alba, we found that decay resistance was due to the antifungal wood extractives synthesized early in the sapwood. In conclusion, we showed that the three wood species with the same level of heartwood decay resistance performance had different decay resistance strategies according to the anatomic and defensive wood traits.


Keywords: decay resistance, heartwood, sapwood, extractives, specific gravity, tropical wood

Conference: 14-05-11/15 St George, Utah, USA


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