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The impact of global warming on the UK distribution of house longhorn beetle Hylotrupes bajulus (L)
2001 - IRG/WP 01-10414
This paper reviews the effects of global warming on insect populations and distribution. The affects of global warming on the spread of Hylotrupes is predicted through a review of research related to the influence of temperature on its life-cycle and flight. Records of Hylotrupes distribution were obtained from published surveys, entomologists and museum collections and were plotted for the UK. Th...
P Oevering, A J Pitman


A New Decay Hazard Map for North America Using the Scheffer Index
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10672
Wood decay experts in the USA and Canada use the Scheffer Index for above-ground wood decay potential to decide among design and treatment options to ensure the durability of wood construction. This paper provides an updated North American decay hazard map and includes data on Central America. Index values calculated from recent climate data are higher than published values due to directional or c...
P I Morris, J Wang


Wood protection, a tool for climate change mitigation?
2008 - IRG/WP 08-50257
In the context of global warming and the search for possible strategies to mitigate climate change, forest and forest products have important advantages. Sustainable management makes forest a carbon sink, wood products have the potential to be a carbon sink as well, and their low carbon intensity is a potential for reducing CO2 emissions by substitution to competing materials. After describing the...
G Deroubaix


Termite taxonomy and distribution with particular reference to climate change in Africa
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10738
Termites constitute an integral component of various ecosystems in Africa. Termites are also amongst the most difficult of the insects to study because of their cryptic behaviour. There are around 2600 species of termites (Isoptera) in 280 genera which have been described worldwide and about 39% of the total termite species are found in Africa. Some termite species are well known pests of agricul...
P O Y Nkunika, B M Ahmed Shiday, G W Sileshi, J R J French, P Nyeko, S Jain


Impact of climate change on wood deterioration - Challenges and solutions for cultural heritage
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20441
Deterioration of wood in cultural assets follows the same physiological mechanisms as in modern structures. Therefore rules and data for prediction of service life derived from old wooden structures can be used to model the service life of recent wooden structures and vice versa. The latter is done in this paper: From experimental test set ups in the field spread over Europe, climatic data, wood t...
C Brischke, A O Rapp, M Hasan, R Despot


Climate change and wood protection, increasing demand of long life wood products and decreasing production of treated wood
2010 - IRG/WP 10-50269
Several new topics related to wood protection sector has appeared in Japan, as the awareness of climate change becomes bigger and bigger. The “Basic act for housing (2006)” and the “Long-life housing promotion act (2009)” were enforced to form a safe and high quality housing stock and to form a long-service-life housing respectively. Despite of the favorable background for wood protection ...
K Yamamoto, H Kato


Effects of global climate change on mould growth - Interactions of concern
2010 - IRG/WP 10-50270
An evident change in climate the last decades has been recorded, and combined effects of increased CO2, elevated temperature and altered precipitation regimes have been observed to represent a change to the fundamental drivers within ecosystems. Growth of moulds, both in nature and on man-made constructions and objects, will most likely increase due to changes in the climate. The survival, the rep...
L Ross Gobakken


Is there a role for termite alates in colony expansion in Wisconsin?
2014 - IRG/WP 14-10820
Termite colonies in Wisconsin tend to be large and widely spread out geographically, and separated by distances up to 1342km. We recently completed a study to determine the genetic diversity and population substructure of thirteen existing colonies of Reticulitermes flavipes using amplified fragment length polymorphism to determine patterns of termite dispersal in Wisconsin. Measures of inbreedin...
F Green III, R A Arango, G R Esenther, T G Shelton


Outbreak of timber pest in Philippines: A consequence of frequent typhoons
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50348
Evidence of climate change and its impact are now visible in many parts of the world. This report presents impact of natural disasters in particular typhoons on trees as it passes across the Philippines archipelago every year. Typhoons damage and destroy large number of trees which soon rot under moist and warm conditions. Wood beetles and termites find these sources very quickly, breaking down th...
P Dhang


Durability and climate change - implications for wood building structures
2019 - IRG/WP 19-50361
Sustainable building practices are rooted in the need for reliable information on the long-term performance of building materials; specifically, the expected service-life of building materials, components, and assemblies. This need is ever more evident given the anticipated effects of climate change on the built environment and the many governmental initiatives world-wide focused on ensuring that ...
M Lacasse


Observed and projected changes in the climate based decay hazard of timber in the United Kingdom
2020 - IRG/WP 20-20665
The risk of microbiological attack on wood is determined by both material and climatic factors and indeed the hazard for a component is based on its intrinsic durability and the conditions in which it is used. The use of wood and organic materials in construction is increasing but ultimately all these materials will be susceptible to microbiological attack. The Scheffer Climate index applies clima...
S F Curling, G A Ormondroyd


Assessing the risk of marine borer attack of the timber trestles and decay of timber above the intertidal zone of the Barmouth Viaduct
2021 - IRG/WP 21-10974
The Barmouth Viaduct is a Grade II* listed structure which carries the single track of the Dovey Junction to Pwllheli line and footway over the Mawddach estuary. It is in a marine environment where timber below the high tide mark is at most risk in Use Class 5 and all timber above in Use Class 3.2, permanently exposed to the risk of wetting. The structure consists of a timber trestle viaduct of ...
J R Williams


Introduction to the project ‘Deterioration and decay of wooden cultural heritage in Arctic and Alpine environments’ (ArcticAlpineDecay)
2022 - IRG/WP 22-10997
The Arctic is already affected by climate change, and this is expected to accelerate over the coming decades. Alpine regions in Norway are projected to face similar challenges. Current knowledge on Norwegian wooden cultural heritage in Arctic and Alpine regions is scattered and contains significant knowledge gaps. Historically, - scientists, sectorial governance, tourist trade and commerce have ma...
G Alfredsen, L Ross, A W Hegnes, M S Austigard, J Mattsson, N B Pedersen, A Sinitsyn, V V Martens, A-C Flyen


The influence of climate changes on Central European forests with an emphasis on Slovenia
2022 - IRG/WP 22-50368
When forests are managed sustainably, they play an essential role in protecting climate and biodiversity. They protect soils and water resources, provide livelihoods, and contribute to the well-being of rural and urban communities. European forests are multifunctional and provide a range of ecosystem services. These include the production of renewable materials that can replace materials with a la...
J Gričar, L Krajnc, M Westergren, S Rus, H Kraigher


A mini review on climate change impact on bio-ecology of subterranean termites
2023 - IRG/WP 23-50375
Climate change is creating possibilities of changes in the bio-ecology of termites across the globe. This change will be felt differently in different regions. While changes in swarming times will be common in the Northern hemisphere, the tropic will encounter more life-history related changes. But termites posing newer threats induced by climate change will be mostly dependent on human activitie...
P Dhang


Changes in decay risk of wood in ground contact over Europe, from analysis of historic climate conditions
2024 - IRG/WP 24-41008
Changing climate conditions will affect global temperature and precipitation patterns, shifting some geographical areas into states that are more suitable for fungal wood decay. Climate normals, which are taken over a 30-year period, capture vast spatial and temporal variations in these conditions and comparing these can show changes over time. Importantly, being able to identify locations that ha...
P B van Niekerk, B N Marais, G Alfredsen, C Brischke


Phytosanitary treatment of roundwood for oversea shipping - on the suitability of dry heat treatment as alternative to climate-change effective fumigation
2024 - IRG/WP 24-50394
The transcontinental trade of roundwood requires thorough phytosanitary treatment to protect native flora and fauna against foreign pests. This is generally done by fumigating shipping containers packed with roundwood with sulfuryl fluoride, a potent greenhouse gas. After treatment, the gas is released into the atmosphere, causing massive emissions. Since 2017, the usage of sulfuryl fluoride in th...
G Weber, L Schrader, J Trautner


Effects of acetylation on the dimensional stability and decay resistance of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) fiberboard
1996 - IRG/WP 96-40059
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the acetylation treated kenaf fiber, Phenol formaldehyde resin content level, and three fungi species on the dimensional stability and decay resistance of high density non wood composition boards. A standard ASTM method was used to evaluate weight loss and thickness change. The linear shrinkage and expansion of each species were also ...
P Chow, T Harp, R Meimban, J A Youngquist, R M Rowell


A proposal for an international wood preservation standard
1994 - IRG/WP 94-20031
Two factors are driving the need for an international wood preservation standard. First, the global need to use our natural resources more wisely and second, the movement towards free trade exemplified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The International Research Group on Wood Preservation is the ideal organisation to undertake the task of developing such a standard. This paper is inte...
P I Morris


Moulds and indoor climate in Denmark
2003 - IRG/WP 03-10488
Just like in many other countries after the oil crisis in 1972 Danish houses were tightened with the result that the relative air humidity rose considerably. The Ministry of Energy also demanded a lowering of the indoor temperature from 25°C to 20°C with the result that the relative air humidity rose even more. According to the latest survey 10% of Danish buildings are infected with moulds. Moul...
J Bech-Andersen, S A Elborne


Combined effects of the treatment of wood with formaldehyde
1978 - IRG/WP 3117
Treatment of fibrous materials with reagents in a vapor phase is neither new nor unique. Numerous examples exist in literature of vapor phase experiments on cellulose fibers and fabrics, and on wood. For many years the textile research and industry have used vapor phase processes for the treatment of textiles. The chemical modification of cellulose is based on different types of reactions e.g. est...
M Stevens, J Schalck


Seasonal effects of the field evaluation on wood preservatives against mold fungi
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20087
For the purpose of the amelioration of field test methods, commercial preservatives against mold fungi were tested under two different seasons, in winter and in summer. The specimens were bundled and set over the water bath and all these systems were covered with plastic film. At top of the system under film, black films for regeneration of sunlight were put in, and windows for changing air were r...
K Suzuki, Y Sugai, K Ryugo, D Watanabe


Climate indices at work: Above ground decay L-joint tests (EN 330 and AWPA E9) at two sites 12000 km apart and with Scheffer climate indices of 60-65 and 300-330
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20095
Matched sets of Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) L-joints were exposed above ground at two field sites for approximately five years. One site, at Garston, Watford, UK has a climate index between 60 and 65 while the other, close to Hilo, HI, USA has an index between 300 and 330. The joints were treated with a range of organic solvent treatments applied either by three minute dip immersion or b...
A F Preston, K J Archer, D M Roberts, J K Carey, A F Bravery


Biodegradation of acetylated southern pine and aspen composition boards
1994 - IRG/WP 94-40020
This objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the acetylation treated wood fiber, Phenol-formaldehyde resin content level, two wood fiber species, three fungi species on the dimensional stability and decay resistence of high density composition boards. A standard ASTM method was used to evaluate weight loss and thickness change. The linear shrinkage and expansion of each species...
P Chow, T Harp, R Meimban, J A Youngquist, R M Powell


Effects of boron treatments on partially decayed oak and pitch pine heartwood
1996 - IRG/WP 96-30106
This paper reports results of borate based preservative treatment and leaching experiments on partially decayed oak and pitch pine heartwood. Previous experiments have shown little damage is caused to sound timber of these types when treated with Polybor and Boracol 20 preservatives. This experiment was carried out to assess the suitability of selected borate based preservatives for use in histori...
S McCutcheon, G M Smith, J W Palfreyman, P Durrant


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