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Non-destructive monitoring of early stages of white rot by Trametes versicolor in Fraxinus excelsior

Contrôle non destructif des premiers stades de la pourriture blanche de Trametes versicolor chez Fraxinus excelsior

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Abstract

  • • Non-destructive detection of fungal decay in living trees is relevant for forest management of valuable species, hazard tree assessment, and research in forest pathology. A variety of tomographic methods, based on stress wave timing, radioactive radiation, or electrical resistivity have been used to detect decay in standing trees non-destructively. But apart from mobile gamma ray computed tomography (Habermehl and Ridder, 1993) which is virtually unavailable, the detection of incipient stages of decay is still not possible.

  • • Wood moisture and electrolyte content influence the electric resistivity of wood. Both are changed by fungal decay. Therefore electric resistivity tomography (ERT) should detect decay in its early stages. Then it could be used to monitor the spatial and temporal progress of degradation.

  • • We infected four Fraxinus excelsior trees with Trametes versicolor using wooden dowels and measured two-dimensional electric resistivity tomograms 3, 10, 13 and 21 months after infection. Immediately after the last electric resistivity measurement trees were felled for further analyses of stem cross-sections. Wood moisture content and raw density had significantly increased in infected areas, but dry density had not significantly changed after 21 months. Areas of very low electric resistivity around the infected wounds correlated very well with infected wood in the stem cross-sections. Increasing areas of low electric resistivity around the infected wounds during consecutive measurements indicate increasing areas of infected wood.

  • • We conclude that the growth of white rot by Trametes versicolor can be monitored with electric resistivity tomography (ERT) beginning from incipient stages, even before wood density decreases. ERT could therefore be a powerful research tool for decay dynamics as well as a method for diagnosing wood decay in forestry and arboriculture.

Résumé

  • • Le contrôle non destructif des champignons de la pourriture du bois dans les arbres vivants est pertinent pour la gestion forestière des essences précieuses, l’évaluation des risques de l’arbre, et la recherche en pathologie forestière. Une variété de méthodes de tomographie, sur la base d’onde de contraintes cadencées, des radiations radioactives, ou de la résistivité électrique ont été utilisés pour détecter la pourriture des arbres sur pied de façon non destructive. Mais, en dehors de la tomographie à rayon gamma mobile (Habermehl et Ridder, 1993) qui est pratiquement indisponible, la détection des débuts de pourriture n’est pas encore possible.

  • • L’humidité du bois et le contenu électrolytique influence la résistivité électrique du bois. Les deux sont modifiés par la pourriture fongique. Par conséquent, la tomographie de résistivité électrique (ERT) devrait détecter la pourriture à ses débuts. Ensuite, elle pourrait être utilisée pour surveiller les progrès de la dégradation dans l’espace et dans le temps.

  • • Nous avons infecté quatre Fraxinus excelsior avec Trametes versicolor à l’aide de chevilles de bois et mesuré les tomographies bi-dimentionnelles de résistivité électrique 3, 10, 13 et 21 mois après l’infection. Immédiatement après la dernière mesure de résistivité électrique les arbres ont été abattus pour faire d’autres analyses dans les sections transversales des troncs. La teneur en eau du bois et la densité des échantillons ont considérablement augmenté dans les zones infectées, mais la densité sèche n’a pas changé de manière significative après 21 mois. Les zones de très faible résistivité électrique autour des blessures infectées sont très bien corrélées avec le bois infecté dans les sections transversales du tronc. L’augmentation des zones de faible résistivité électrique, autour des blessures infectées, au cours des mesures consécutives, indique un accroissement des zones de bois infecté.

  • • Nous concluons que la croissance de la pourriture blanche de Trametes versicolor peut être contrôlée avec la tomographie de résistivité électrique (ERT) dès les premiers stades, avant même que la densité du bois diminue. ERT pourrait donc être un puissant outil de recherche pour étudier la dynamique d’évolution de la pourriture ainsi qu’une méthode de diagnostic de la pourriture du bois en foresterie et arboriculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Applied Sciences and Art, Büsgenweg 1a, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Dirk Bieker, Rolf Kehr, Gesine Weber & Steffen Rust

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  1. Dirk Bieker
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  2. Rolf Kehr
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  3. Gesine Weber
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  4. Steffen Rust
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Correspondence to Steffen Rust.

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Bieker, D., Kehr, R., Weber, G. et al. Non-destructive monitoring of early stages of white rot by Trametes versicolor in Fraxinus excelsior . Ann. For. Sci. 67, 210 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2009103

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2009103

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