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Ultra-structural observations on the degradation of wood surfaces during weathering
1987 - IRG/WP 2280
Radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) sapwood was converted into blocks with a transverse face about 5 mm square and measuring 8 mm longitudinally. Transverse (T.S.), Radial (R.L.S.) and Tangential (T.L.S.) surfaces were prepared and specimens exposed to the weather inclined at 45° facing equatorially for periods of between 20-60 days. After 30 days exposure erosion of the middle lamella was observ...
P D Evans, S Thein


Ultrastructural aspects of bacterial attacks on an archaeological wood
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10007
Transmission electron microscopy of wood from a Chinese ship submerged in the mud for over 900 years showed bacteria to be the main factor for its deterioration. The micromorphology of degraded wood cell walls was similar to that observed during the attacks of wood by erosion bacteria. Other bacterial forms, previously considered lo be scavenging bacteria, were also abundant in degraded areas of t...
Yoon Soo Kim, A P Singh


Ultrastructure of degraded, CCA-treated Pinus radiata wood from a marine pile
1990 - IRG/WP 1461
During an inspection of marine piles, 12 years after installation, severe degradation was noted on one of them in the vicinity of a corroded eye-bolt. The wood was dark brown in colour and tended to crumble easily. Wood fragments were examined by light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy and were also analysed for carbohydrates and lignin. Light microscopy showed numerous ...
A P Singh, M E Hedley


Degradation of the gelatinous-layer in aspen and rubber wood by the blue stain fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10168
Studies on the degradative ability of the blue stain fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae Pat. have shown several strains to cause significant weight losses (i.e. ca 20%) in the temperate and tropical wood species, aspen (Populus tremula) and rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis). In addition to the consumption of soluble carbohydrates and extractives, major changes in the ultrastructure of fibre cell walls...
O Encinas, G F Daniel


Evidence for wood cell wall degradation by the blue stain fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat
1994 - IRG/WP 94-10077
Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat., a world wide ubiquitous polyfagus sapstain fungus, was found able to destroy the cell walls of birch fibres (Betula verrucosa Ehrh.) but not Caribbean (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis Barr. and Golf.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) tracheids. The fungus caused characteristic erosion of fibre cell walls similar to soft rot type 2; destruction of the S1 - S2 int...
O Encinas, G F Daniel


Soft rot decay of Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) wood
1995 - IRG/WP 95-10119
The heartwood of Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri), an East Malaysian timber species, is naturally durable due to its certain unique anatomical features and high content of extractives. The timber can tolerate years of exposure to hazardous conditions in ground contact and other situations without any significant loss in its strength. A few Belian transmission poles sampled from one locality in Saraw...
A H H Wong, A P Singh


Microbial decay of an archaeological wood
1994 - IRG/WP 94-10053
A light and transmission electron microscopic investigation of an archaeological wood was undertaken to determine the cause of its deterioration. The wood came from a bulwark constructed in early 1100 in the lake Tingstäde Träsk on the island Gotland in Sweden. The samples of the wood, which was identified as Pinus sylvestris, were taken from a depth of 0.85 m below the bottom level. The wood wa...
A P Singh, T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Degradation features of waterlogged archaeological compression wood
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10258
The degradation characteristics of waterlogged archaeological compression wood excavated in South Korea were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Degradation of Pinus compression wood occurred mainly in the inner part of S2 layer. In contrast, the outer part of S2 layer remained relatively intact. CLSM and TEM showed the erosion type of ...
Yoon Soo Kim, A P Singh


Immuno-electron microscopic localization of extracellular metabolites in spruce wood decayed by brown-rot fungus Postia placenta
1990 - IRG/WP 1441
Degradation by Postia placenta in spruce and birch wood was shown to occur not only in the wood cell wall but also in the middle lamellae region. Middle lamellae was often found to be degraded along the centerline so that cells could separate along this line. Extracellular membrane structures were found surrounding the hyphae and this matrix labelled positively with antisera produced to Postia pla...
Y S Kim, B Goodell, J Jellison


Microbial decay in an extremely durable Malaysian hardwood Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) - an overview
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10216
The heartwood of Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) is highly regarded among the naturally durable Malaysian hardwoods, and is therefore a choice timber for soilcontact use in the humid tropics such as untreated telecommunication poles, fence posts and railway sleepers. The high microbial resistance of the wood is evidenced by the mere superficial degradation observed in some pole samples after 20 yea...
A H H Wong, A P Singh


Evidence for actinomycete degradation of wood cell walls
1990 - IRG/WP 1444
Several unique patterns of degradation occurring in wood cell walls have been observed in wooden stakes inserted in unsterile soil in the laboratory. Some of the patterns have also been observed in coniferous wood taken from forest floors. All the observed attack types occur within wood cell walls, mainly within the S2 layer. Attack is characterised by channels of varying diameter or small fusifor...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel, S L Bardage


Bacterial degradation of wood cell wall: A review of degradation patterns
1990 - IRG/WP 1460
Information from bacterial degradation studies of 60's and 70's was reviewed by Nilsson in 1982. The application of electron microscopy to this area in recent years has provided much useful information and has eliminated earlier scepticism among workers about the ability of bacteria to degrade lignified wood cell walls. Studies using transmission electron microscopy together with...
A P Singh, J A Butcher


Decay capacity and degradation patterns of Xylaria hypoxylon on different wood species
2022 - IRG/WP 22-10985
A host of physical and environmental factors may influence fungal decay including the wood substrate, temperature, moisture, oxygen, light, pH, and nitrogen. Understanding the effects of these factors on fungal decay is important for the effective utilization of wood decay fungi in biotechnological processes and for understanding the role of these organisms in global carbon cycling. The ascomycete...
E Bari, G Daniel, A Singh, J J Morrell


Resistance of Alstonia scholaris vestures to degradation by tunnelling bacteria
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1547
Electron microscopic examination of vessels and fibre-tracheids in the wood of Alstonia scholaris exposed to tunnelling bacteria (TB) in a liquid culture showed degradation of all areas of the secondary wall. The highly lignified middle lamella was also degraded in advanced stages of TB attack. However, vestured pit membranes and vestures appeared to be resistant to degradation by TB even when oth...
A P Singh, T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Water-based water repellents for treatment of wood
1987 - IRG/WP 3446
The water uptake by wood can be reduced by treatment with a water repellent. The water repellents most commonly used are solvent based. In the present work a new type of water repellent that is water-based has been investigated. Two different treatments have shown an effect of the same order as a commercial solvent based product. The cellular distribution of the water repellents has been investiga...
I G Svensson, G Hägglund, I Johansson, W B Banks


Ultrastructural observations on wood-degrading erosion bacteria
1986 - IRG/WP 1283
G F Daniel, T Nilsson


Degradation of the normal fibre walls of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) by the tropical blue-stain fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10286
Rubberwood was examined by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after exposure to the common tropical sapstain fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae for four weeks to study hyphal colonisation of wood cells and to determine if this fungus also degraded lignified normal fibre cell walls in addition to the walls of non-lignified elements. Light microscopy revealed relatively large ...
A A H Wong, A P Singh


Estimation of effective diffusion path lengths in wood by swelling studies
1989 - IRG/WP 3524
The effective average distance that a solute must diffuse to penetrate the cell wall matrix following pressure treatment is estimated from the rate of swelling of wood, vacuum treated with water. It is assumed that the diffusion paths are similar for water and a solute such as a wood preservative component. Since bound water diffusion coefficients for water in wood have been estimated by others, t...
P A Cooper, R Churma


Étude in vitro de la colonisation et de la dégradation structurale du bois d'aubier de Pin sylvestre par la Mérule: Serpula lacrymans Schum. ex Fr. S. F. Gray
1979 - IRG/WP 198
The degradation of Scots pine sapwood cell walls by Serpula lacrymans, a brown rot fungus, is observed after various periods of exposure from two weeks to twelve weeks. The observation by microscopy shows that the hyphae of Serpula rapidly invade the wood tissues as cell wall degradation starts. That deterioration is not gradual, it is observed to be very irregular as well within the whole of the ...
D Dirol


Formation of soft rot cavities in relation to concentric layers in wood fibre walls
1983 - IRG/WP 1185
A large number of timber species attacked by soft rot have been examined using light microscopy. The S2 layers in a large number of the timbers exhibited special structural features in the form of thin concentric layers. Several observations indicate that these layers may be characterised as "weak" zones by being more easily degradable than the surrounding wall layers. The chemical structure of th...
T Nilsson, G F Daniel


Changes in pore structure and cell wall volume in wood decayed by brown- and white-rot fungi
1991 - IRG/WP 1501
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) wood blocks were decayed by Postia (=Poria) placenta or Phanerochaete chrysosporium in soil-block cultures. Decay was terminated at various weight losses, and the pore volumes available to probes of various molecular weight and diameter were determined by the solute exclusion technique (Stone, J.E. and A.M. Scallan. 1968. Cellulose Chem. Technol. 2, 343-358.)....
D S Flournoy


Diffusion into and bulking of the wood cell wall with polystyrene glycols (PEG)
1991 - IRG/WP 3660
The diffusion and equilibrium distribution of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the cell walls of red pine (Pinus resinosa) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) were followed by analysing the free lumen solution concentration of vacuum treated wafers at various times after treatment. PEG was more-or-less excluded from the cell walls of wood, depending on the wood species and PEG molecular weight. ...
P A Cooper, Y T Ung, D Alexander, C Holzscherer


Premature failure of CCA treated vineyard posts from brown rot
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10016
A survey of CCA (AWPA Type C) treated posts used as grape vine trellis supports, to determine the extent and type of decay was carried out at a terraced vineyard in the Hawkes Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand. Of 357 posts examined out of a total of 970 in the vineyard, 47% had moderate to severe decay or had failed, 20% had established decay, 10% had a trace of decay and 23% had no s...
R N Wakeling, A P Singh


Fungal siderophores and their rôle in wood biodegradation
1990 - IRG/WP 1442
Iron and other metals such as manganese, play an important role in the metabolic functions of fungi that cause wood deterioration. These transition metals are also found in, or associated with, the extracellular fungal enzymes shown to be directly involved in the decay process. Recently our research group was able to show that siderophores (low molecular weight biological chelators) are produced b...
J Jellison, B Goodell, F Fekete, V Chandhoke


Hyphal tunnelling of belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) wood cell walls
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10152
Belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri) is highly regarded among the naturally durable Malaysian hardwoods. Visual inspections at the groundline of belian transmission poles from Sarawak, Malaysia, showed only surface decay of wood after 20 years in service. The cause of decay in belian was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. Light microscopy of transverse sections of surface tissue...
A P Singh, A H H Wong


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