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Premature failure of utility poles in Switzerland and Germany related to wood decay basidiomycetes

Ribera, Javier ; Schubert, Mark ; Fink, Siegfried ; Cartabia, Marco ; Schwarze, Francis W.M.R.

In: Holzforschung, 2017, vol. 71, no. 3, p. 241-247

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    Title
    • Premature failure of utility poles in Switzerland and Germany related to wood decay basidiomycetes
    Author
    • Ribera, Javier. Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Applied Wood Materials, Bio-engineered Wood, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
    • Schubert, Mark. Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Applied Wood Materials, Bio-engineered Wood, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
    • Fink, Siegfried. Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Professur für Forstbotanik, Bertoldstrasse 17, D-79085 Freiburg i. Br., Germany
    • Cartabia, Marco. Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Applied Wood Materials, Bio-engineered Wood, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
    • Schwarze, Francis W.M.R.. Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Applied Wood Materials, Bio-engineered Wood, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:330981
    Summary
    In contact with soil, copper (Cu) formulations as preservatives are expected to inhibit wood decay by fungi and other soil-borne microorganisms. However, Cu-resistant brown-rot (BR) fungi lead to premature failures of utility poles at some sites. In this study, the service lives of 111 utility poles of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst) (73 from Switzerland and 38 from Germany) impregnated with Cu-based wood preservatives were investigated. Three segments of each utility pole were analyzed. The severity of decay was dependent on the preservative formulation. BR fungi and in particular Antrodia species were predominantly isolated from utility poles that were not treated with a co-biocide, e.g. boron (B). Cu-sensitivity of several isolated BR fungi was confirmed in studies on Cu-amended medium and in Cu-treated wood. Isolates of Fibroporia vaillantii and Serpula himantioides showed a higher Cu-tolerance than the highly Cu-tolerant Empa isolate Rhodonia placenta (Empa 45) or Antrodia serialis.