Title: Quantifying wood decay in living trees

Summary: An essential part of hazard tree assessment is the evaluation of decayed wood in the tree trunk. A study compared three methods of decay assessment in the cross sections of 20-year-old Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna) trees. The aim was to estimate the amount of decay in the trunk wood of selected trees as accurately as possible. Simple linear regression analyses were used to compare data gathered using each method with data gathered by the other. The results, which suggest that decreased sonic velocities and/or lower penetrative resistance in decaying wood may be evident prior to visual and other physical indications of wood decay, will be presented.

Denise Johnstone, Master of Forest Science, GDip App Sci (Hort), BA, ADip App Sci (Hort)., Lechturer in Arb, University of Melbourne, Department of Resource Management, Richmond, VIC, Australia

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