Comparative study on the durability of heat-treated White Birch (Betula papyrifera) subjected to the attack of brown and white rot fungi

Abstract

The effect of heat treatment on decay resistance of white birch was evaluated for different incubation periods ranging from 2 to 12 weeks using three species of brown rot and one species of white rot fungus. The results of weight loss tests showed that the white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor, effectively degraded the untreated wood (73.5%). While the degradation of untreated wood by brown rot fungi species, Gloephyllum trabeum (11.6%) and Conifora puteana (6.2%), was considerably less compared to T. versicolor, the third brown rot fungi studied, Poria placenta, caused an appreciable degradation of the same species (52.4%). The results clearly showed that the heat treatment reduced the effect of fungi attack on white birch. Increasing the heat treatment temperature from 195 to 215°C resulted in reduction of weight loss, consequently, reduction in fungal attack. As an example, the weight loss reductions due to T. versicolor, P. placenta, G. trabeum and C. puteana attack was 62.2%, 71.3%, 89.6% and 100%, respectively, compared to the weight loss of untreated wood when it is heat treated at 215°C. Thus, these results confirmed that the heat treatment increased the biological resistance of white birch.

Keywords:

• Betula papyrifera
• brown rot fungi
• heat-treated wood
• white rot fungus
• white birch
• wood decay

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Yasar Kocaefe, Dr Noura Oumarou and Ms Claire Fournier for their help during the heat treatment trials and fungal tests. The financial support of NSERC, UQAC (University of Québec at Chicoutimi) and FUQAC (Foundation of University of Québec at Chicoutimi) is greatly appreciated.