Natural durability of timber may be defined as “inherent ability of timber to attack by wood destroying organisms (bacteria, fungi, insects, marine borers) without preservative treatment. On the base of biological tests, EN-350-2 standard (Afnor, 1994), describe the classification of wood species according to their natural durability. But these specifications are not adapted in the case of wood species with high variability of natural durability at inter or intra tree level In this case; the variability of natural durability could be detrimental to end-users. Because of standard testing methods are complex and time-consuming, it is important to propose alternative methods to predict natural durability. The focus of this review is to present different methods to predict natural durability based on the presence of chemical extractives, which have long been recognized as key features that impart natural durability of some wood species.

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