Changes in moisture, soluble carbohydrate, and bacterial numbers during water storage of pine

Abstract

Water storage is a widely used method of preventing biodeterioration in wood. To establish the nature of some of the changes that occur during water storage, logs of Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra var maritima were maintained under an experimental water sprinkler system for a year and sampled at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months. Samples were analyzed for moisture content (MC) (percentage of ovendry weight), soluble carbohydrates (colorimetric analysis), and counts were made of the number of resident bacteria. Results indicated that while MC increased largely as expected, soluble carbohydrates depleted rapidly during storage, particularly at the log ends, and after 12 months of storage, the amount in both pine species had reduced to c. 5 percent of the original concentration. In contrast, bacterial numbers increased sharply after 3 months of water storage and the presence of antagonistic bacteria combined with low levels of soluble sugars may explain the patterns of fungal defacement previously observed on water-stored timber.