Comparison of the decay behavior of two white‐rot fungi in relation to wood type and exposure conditions

• Fungal wood decay strategies are influenced by several factors, such as wood species,moisture content, and temperature. This study aims to evaluate wood degradation characteristics ofspruce, beech, and oak after exposure to the white-rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolor.Both fungi caused high mass losses in beech wood, while spruce and oak wood were more resistant todecay. The moisture content values of the decayed wood correlated with the mass losses for all threewood species and incubation periods. Combined microscopic and chemical studies indicated that thetwo fungi di ered in their decay behavior. While T. versicolor produced a decay pattern (cell wallerosion) typical of white-rot fungi in all wood species, P. ostreatus caused cell wall erosion in spruceand beech and soft-rot type I (cavity formation) decay in oak wood. These observations suggest thatP. ostreatus may have the capacity to produce a wider range of enzymes/radicals triggered by thechemical composition of wood cell walls and/or local compositional variability within the cell wall.

Subject headings

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Trävetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Wood Science (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)