CHANGES IN THE SURFACE PROPERTIES OF WOOD DURING BROWN ROT

Abstract

We investigated the applicability of the instrumented microscratching and microindentation methods in the examination of fungal decay of wood. Samples of Norway spruce wood (Picea abies) were exposed to the brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum using the mini-block method. The decay progression was monitored at one-week intervals during the 8-week fungal exposure. The results were complemented by hyperspectral imaging. In contrast to the progression of fungal decay, measured by mass loss of wood samples and where decay could only be detected five weeks after exposure, signs of decay could be detected by microscratching and microindentation measurements after only two weeks of exposure.