There are many factors which effect durability of wood in existing timber structures. The most important factors effecting durability are biological, especially the wood-rotting fungi and wood-destroying insects. The spread of beetles and fungi is much more extensive on the islands and in coastal regions, and the damages caused by them is much greater because of favourable climate conditions. During the Central Baltic Interreg IVA project “Fungi and Beetles in Buildings on Islands of Baltic Sea” 150 investigations in wooden buildings or buildings with timber structures and also in the forests around buildings to monitor activity of wood boring insects and wood destroying fungi were made in three years. Main species were identified and the quantity of insects in the forest was calculated. As a result of the project three educational films were made, a written book about biodeterioration in buildings and many scientific papers were published. In addition, new methods for treatment and reinforcement of timber structures in situ and definition of movement of wood boring insects between forest and buildings were established.
Keywords: Wood-destroying fungi, Wood-boring insects, Biodeterioration
Authors
Pilt K.
Estonian Mycology Research Centre, Tartu, Estonia
Noldt U.
Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI) / Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Institute of Wood Technology and Wood Biology (HTB), Hamburg, Germany
Teder M.
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Department of Rural Engineering, Tartu, Estonia
Süda I.
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Department of Forest Biology, Tartu, Estonia
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