Biological durability of pine wood

Abstract

The genus Pinus represents more than a hundred different tree species, most of them forming stems that can be commercially utilised for both timber and wood pulp industry. Pines are native to most of the Northern Hemisphere, while introduced and often naturalized in the Southern Hemisphere. The sapwood of pines is considered ‘not durable’ but generally easy to impregnate. On the contrary, the coloured heartwood of pines is difficult to impregnate and considered ‘less to moderately durable’ against decay fungi, but due to varying content and composition of extractives, both moisture performance and inherent durability vary within and between species. This study reviewed the literature to quantify the extent of variability of pine wood and its potential causes. Literature data from durability tests performed under laboratory and field conditions made it possible to compile reference factors for 26 pine species. The inter-species variation of biological durability is more prominent in above-ground exposure (0.7–14.9 times higher compared to the non-durable pine sapwood) compared to soil contact scenarios (1.0–2.4). The latter might be explained by fungicidal and hydrophobic extractives of pines, which play a more dominant role in above-ground exposure compared to soil exposure with permanent wetting.