Deterioration of wood from live and dead Alaska yellow-cedar in contact with soil

The deterioration of heartwood from live and dead Alaska yellow-cedar trees was evaluated by exposing ministakes in soils at field sites in Alaska and Mississippi for 2 and 4 year intervals. Southern yellow pine sapwood served as a control. The vastly greater deterioration, as measured by weight loss, in Mississippi compared to Alaska (60 and 10 percent after 4 years, respectively) was attributed to warmer temperatures, a longer growing season, and perhaps the presence of termites. The wood from Alaska yellow-cedar trees dead 26 years did not differ in deterioration from the wood from live cedar trees, but wood from cedar trees dead 81 years experienced an intermediate deterioration between these classes and the pine controls. Slow changes in heartwood chemistry following tree death probably explain these differences for Alaska yellow-cedar. The results from this and several related studies indicate that heartwood from dead Alaska yellow-cedar trees is suitable for many indoor and outdoor applications long after tree death, but wood from live or dead cedar trees does not perform particularly well in contact with soil.