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Journal of Wood Science

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

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Effects of heartwood extractive fractions of Thuja plicata and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis on wood degradation by termites or fungi

Journal of Wood Science volume 52, pages 147–153 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The effect of selective removal of extractives on termite or decay resistance was assessed with matched samples of Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D.Don) Spach heartwood. Samples were extracted using a variety of solvents and then exposed to the subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in a no-choice feeding test or to the brown-rot fungus Postia placenta (Fr.) M. Larsen & Lombard in a soil bottle test. At the same time, the effect of naturally occurring variations in heartwood extractives on termite or decay resistance was evaluated by testing samples from the inner and outer heartwood of five trees of each species against C. formosanus and P. placenta and analyzing matched wood samples for their extractive content. The results suggest that the methanol-soluble extractives in T. plicata and C. nootkatensis play an important role in heartwood resistance to attack by C. formosanus and P. placenta. Total methanol-soluble extractive content of the heartwood was positively correlated with both termite and decay resistance; however, there was much unexplained variation and levels of individual extractive components were only weakly correlated with one another. Further studies are under way to develop a better understanding of the relationships between individual extractive levels and performance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University, 119 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97330, USA

    Adam M. Taylor, Barbara L. Gartner & Jeffrey J. Morrell

  2. Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Uji, 611-0011, Japan

    K. Tsunoda

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  1. Adam M. Taylor
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  2. Barbara L. Gartner
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  3. Jeffrey J. Morrell
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  4. K. Tsunoda
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Correspondence to Jeffrey J. Morrell.

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Taylor, A.M., Gartner, B.L., Morrell, J.J. et al. Effects of heartwood extractive fractions of Thuja plicata and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis on wood degradation by termites or fungi. J Wood Sci 52, 147–153 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-005-0743-6

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