Effects of substrate on laboratory spalting of sugar maple
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Sara C. Robinson
Abstract
Spalting is the coloration of wood caused by fungal colonization. Woodturners, craftspeople, and artists appreciate spalted wood for its aesthetic appeal and uniqueness. Laboratory-induced spalting aims at a repeatable procedure in which wood is inoculated with selected fungi to obtain natural color with high aesthetic appeal, low weight loss and good machinability. Vermiculite (a natural clay with a high capacity for water holding and cation exchange) has been the primary incubation substrate for spalting research despite soil being the standard substrate for soil block decay testing. In this research, we explored the differences between these two substrates and their effects on the growth of spalting fungi on sugar maple (Acer saccharum) wood. Five fungi, Trametes versicolor, Xylaria polymorpha, Arthrographis cuboidea, Ceratocystis pilifera, and Ceratocystis virescens, were tested for their weight loss and spalting abilities on 14-mm sugar maple cubes incubated in both soil and vermiculite. Weight losses from all fungi were either unaffected or reduced by incubation in vermiculite compared to soil. In vermiculite, X. polymorpha produced more zone lines and A. cuboidea produced more pigment than blocks incubated in soil. Growth in vermiculite decreased weight loss of blocks inoculated with T. versicolor and X. polymorpha, while bleaching was unaffected regardless of substrate. External blue stain was higher on blocks inoculated with either Ceratocystis species and incubated in soil. These results indicate that vermiculite is a better substrate for spalting regardless of fungus due to the higher external pigmentation, lower weight loss, and better color contrast on the sugar maple blocks incubated in this substrate.
©2009 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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- Effects of substrate on laboratory spalting of sugar maple
- Short Notes
- Apigenin derivatives from Paulownia tomentosa Steud. var. tomentosa stem barks
- Forming limits for the bulk forming of solid wood
- Meetings
- Meetings
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Papers
- 2D-NMR (HSQC) difference spectra between specifically 13C-enriched and unenriched protolignin of Ginkgo biloba obtained in the solution state of whole cell wall material
- Colour in thermally modified wood of beech, Norway spruce and Scots pine. Part 1: Colour evolution and colour changes
- Colour in thermally modified wood of beech, Norway spruce and Scots pine. Part 2: Property predictions from colour changes
- The relationship found between fibre length and viscosity of three different commercial kraft pulps
- High-yield kraft pulping of Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden biotreated by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora under two different culture conditions
- Analysis of microwave vs. thermally assisted grafting of poly(methyl-vinyl ether co-maleic acid)-polyethylene glycol to birch kraft pulp
- Selective enzyme impregnation of chips to reduce specific refining energy in alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping
- Radical chain reactions in pyrolytic cleavage of the ether linkages of lignin model dimers and a trimer
- Quantitative chemical indicators to assess the gradation of compression wood
- Comparison of mechanical properties of thermally modified wood at growth ring and cell wall level by means of instrumented indentation tests
- Revisiting the transition between juvenile and mature wood: a comparison of fibre length, microfibril angle and relative wood density in lodgepole pine
- Characterization of the wood quality of pernambuco (Caesalpinia echinata Lam) by measurements of density, extractives content, microfibril angle, stiffness, color, and NIR spectroscopy
- An improved drying model for highly-impermeable hardwoods
- Neutron attenuation coefficients for non-invasive quantification of wood properties
- Topochemical investigations of cell walls in developing xylem of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)
- Effects of substrate on laboratory spalting of sugar maple
- Short Notes
- Apigenin derivatives from Paulownia tomentosa Steud. var. tomentosa stem barks
- Forming limits for the bulk forming of solid wood
- Meetings
- Meetings
