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Changes in oak wood buried in waterlogged peat: shrinkage as a complementary indicator of the wood degradation rate

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Abstract

A study was made on the degradation of contemporary heartwood of oak (Quercus sp.) buried in waterlogged peat on the archaeological site at Biskupin (Poland). The state of wood preservation was evaluated after 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 years of deposition of samples in conditions similar to anaerobic. The changes that occurred in the wood were assessed on the basis of microscopic examinations, chemical composition, mass loss and selected physical properties of the wood. Despite a distinct mass loss of the samples (7.4% after 10 years of the experiment), only the initial phase of cell wall degradation and almost unchanged contents of major chemical components were observed in the examined wood. Greater changes were recorded in the content of water-soluble extractives, maximum water content, basic density and wood porosity, as well as in the total tangential and the total radial shrinkage. Wood mass loss resulted mainly from the loss of substances soluble in water (up to 70.8% after 10 years of the experiment) and less from the biological degradation of cell walls (loss of major chemical components of wood). A close relationship was observed between content of substances soluble in water, mass loss, and wood shrinkage. It was concluded that tangential and radial shrinkage may serve as a simple complementary indicator of the state of preservation of wood decomposing in the conditions of a monitored archaeological site.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation, Archaeological Museum in Biskupin, Biskupin 17, 88-410, Gąsawa, Poland

    Leszek Babiński

  2. Department of Wood Science, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Wood Technology, Wojska Polskiego 38/42, 60-627, Poznań, Poland

    Ewa Fabisiak

  3. Institute of Chemical Wood Technology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Wood Technology, Wojska Polskiego 38/42, 60-627, Poznań, Poland

    Magdalena Zborowska

  4. Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Bogumiła Krygowskiego 12, 61-680, Poznań, Poland

    Danuta Michalska

  5. Department of Wood Chemistry and Environmental Protection, Wood Technology Institute, Winiarska 1, 60-654, Poznań, Poland

    Włodzimierz Prądzyński

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  1. Leszek Babiński
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  2. Ewa Fabisiak
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Correspondence to Leszek Babiński.

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Babiński, L., Fabisiak, E., Zborowska, M. et al. Changes in oak wood buried in waterlogged peat: shrinkage as a complementary indicator of the wood degradation rate. Eur. J. Wood Prod. 77, 691–703 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-019-01420-z

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