Development of latent defects in pine and spruce timber stored for a long time in a landing yards

Deadwood landings were established in three locations in Poland – two for the storage of pine timber, and one for spruce timber. Three measuring baskets were placed on each landing yard. In each basket rollers were arranged in three test layers. In each test layer, 7 rollers were arranged. Each test roller was cut in the middle of its length and a disc was taken from its inner part for further analysis. Each disc was photographed. Photographs obtained during successive trials were analyzed with the Multi Scan program. During the 54 months of research, 12 measurements were performed. On the faces of pine and spruce rollers, an increase in the area occupied by blue stain was initially observed, and then the area of blue stain began to decrease. A similar trend was also observed in the case of hard rot. In the case of soft rot, a large variability was observed in the areas in the subsequent months of the study. However, in the final stage of the study, an increase in the area of the faces occupied by soft rot was observed. As a result of the research it was found, it can be stated that the process of pine wood decomposition occurs, but it is very slow. In the case of spruce wood, the decomposition process is more intense, and is particularly visible after 18 months of storage.