Prediction of natural durability of commercial available European and Siberian larch by near-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

The natural durability of larch wood is described as being highly variable, ranging from non-durable to durable. In this study, FT-NIR spectroscopy was investigated for its ability to predict the natural durability of commercially available larch wood. Samples originated from approximately 60 European and 25 Siberian larch trees, provided by three Austrian-based wood industries. Natural durability tests were performed using the test fungi Gloeophyllum trabeum and Coniophora puteana. FT-NIR spectra were recorded and average spectra were calculated for calibration modelling. The models were strong wR 2 (CV)s70.7-95.19, RMSEPs0.063-0.026x and showed better suitability with spectra acquired from radial surfaces compared to those from axial surfaces. The prediction model was valid across larch species (European and Siberian), so that exact knowledge of the growth and site conditions was not required.

Ageing and Deterioration of Materials in the Environment – Application of Multivariate Data Analysis

“…Wood is a remarkably naturally durable material. This natural durability in terms of decay resistance against fungi, varies in a wide range between species and even within species [78][79][80] and can also be predicted by infrared spectroscopy [78,81,82]. The natural durability of wood mainly depends on the extractives composition [79,83] but also on the extractives content [79] and is in general higher in hardwoods than in softwoods.…”

Perspectives for genetic improvement in heartwood size and extractive content in relation to natural durability and aesthetics in interspecific hybrid larch (Larix × eurolepis)

“…Gierlinger et al 2004a;Kokutse et al 2006;Amusant et al 2008) and wood near-infrared (NIR) spectra (e.g. Gierlinger et al 2003;Sykacek et al 2006;Leinonen et al 2008;Bush et al 2011) have been studied in relation to natural durability and proposed as indirect predictors with more or less success.…”

Separating Norway spruce heartwood and sapwood in dried condition with near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis

“…Various investigations have used NIRS for prediction of such wood properties as stiffness, density and fibre length (Hauksson et al 2001;Schimleck et al 2003;André et al 2006). Predicting wood decay by using NIR was reported by Stirling et al (2007) and Fackler et al (2007), and prediction of natural durability was reported by Sykacek et al 2006. A new review of NIRS research involving wood and paper has been done by Tsuchikawa (2007).…”