Dynamics of wood decay in the cross-section of logs as a result of long-term storage in a landing yard

Under investigation three deadwood landing yards were established - two with pine wood and one with spruce wood. Three measuring baskets were placed on each landing yard. In each basket round timbers were arranged in three test layers. In each test layer, 7 round timbers were arranged. Two cross-sections were photographed on each roller. Photographs obtained during successive trials were analyzed with the MultiScan program. Measurement work was conducted 12 times, at the beginning (month 0) and then at intervals of 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48 and 54 months. It was found that blue stain became invisible on the cross-sections of pine round timbers after 12 months and in spruce after 6 months. On the cross-sections of pine round timbers, it was observed that hard rot appeared only after 9 months. In spruce wood, the presence of hard rot was already evident from the month 0. In most cases, the largest areas of hard rot were found in the upper layers. In the case of soft rot on pine wood, only after 12 months were isolated cases of its occurrence recorded and in spruce wood after 6 months. After 24 months did the number of cross-sections with this rot increase sharply. Natural depreciation processes of wood raw materials due to long storage cause negative changes in its quality. However, these changes are not significant, meaning that after 54 months of the raw material being in storage, it is still mostly a full-value raw material.