Aspects regarding micromycetes involvement in wood biodeterioration

The micromycetes, as a result of mycelia growth and development on wooden surfaces, produce their physical and chemical degradation. We studied various wood samples, on different deciduous types: linden (Tilia platyphyllos) used as prop for icons in our country, hornbeam (Carpinus sp.) and oak (Quercus sp.). The samples have different durability, density, strength and degrees of humidity. After 30 days of incubation at a temperature of 30±2°C and a relative humidity of the air of over 90%, which are favorable conditions for the development of fungi, the samples of lime and hornbeam being used on a Czapek-Dox medium of culture (no extra carbon source), there were isolated lignolitic fungi - Chaetomium globosum and Paecilomyces variotii, as well as species that degrade pulp: Trichoderma viride, Myrothecium verrucaria, and species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. The quantification of the weight variation in wood pieces, as well as in sawdust, and the optical microscopy showed the involvement of fungi in the structural changes of wood. By the methods that we used, we tried to point out, on one hand, the load level of the mycoflora depending on the wood type (healthy, not attacked) and on its humidity and, on the other hand, the beginning of some bio-deterioration processes (changes in the structure of pulp). The purpose of this work is the application of a proper antifungic treatment to lime wood that is used as a prop for icons.