Durability of eucalypts wood in soil bed and field decay tests

Abstract

This evaluated the natural resistance of wood from seven Eucalyptus trees in field decay and soil bed tests. Two 12-year-old trees were randomly sampled per species, with 2,2 m logs being obtained from the  basal section of each tree. The samples were taken in two positions in the radial direction of the stem (middle heartwood and transition zone; containing heartwood and sapwood). The field decay tests were installed in three municipalities in the southern state of Espírito Santo, and the soil utilized soil from the three field decay test areas. The field decay tests were evaluated after six, 12 and 18 months after installation and the soil bed tests after six months. The Scott-Knott test (p ≤ 0,05) was used in the analysis and evaluation of the tests. The sapwood-heartwood (transition region) exhibited the greatest mass losses for the field decay and soil bed tests. On average, for the soil bed test the lowest mass losses were observed for the soil of Vargem Alta (5,00 %), with greater mass losses observed for São José do Calçado (7,05 %) and Jerônimo Monteiro (9,90 %). In the field decay test the organisms present in the soil of São José do Calçado and related to the organic matter content Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus saligna more intensely.