Changes of the pH value of impregnated wood during exposure to wood-rotting fungi

Abstract

Changes of the pH-value of impregnated and unimpregnated wood caused by wood rotting fungi were studied. Wood, impregnated with two aqueous solutions of copper(II) sulfate and of copper(II) octanoate with ethanolamine, was exposed to different wood rotting fungi for 2, 4 and 12 weeks. Two of them were white-rot fungi (Trametes versicolor and Schizophyllum commune). The third species was the brown-rot fungi Antrodia vaillantii, using three different strains of this species. Antrodia vaillantii substantially decreased the pH-value of impregnated and unimpregnated wood before any mass loss appeared. On the other hand, the white-rot fungus T. versicolor and S. commune caused a slight increase of the pH of impregnated and unimpregnated wood. It is suggested that a decrease of pH of wood may indicate early stages of decay by brown rot fungi. © Springer-Verlag 2001.