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Bukovina sodi med najpomembnejše lesne vrste v Sloveniji. Standard SIST EN 350-2 uvršča bukovino med lesne vrste z najslabšo odpornostjo proti lesnim glivam. To je eden izmed najpomembnejših razlogov, ki preprečuje uporabo bukovine na prostem. Večina podatkov o odpornosti bukovine temelji na laboratorijskih testiranjih, realnih terenskih testov pa je relativno malo. Življenjska doba bukovine je v veliki meri odvisna od lokalnih podnebnih razmer, zato je nujno določiti življenjsko dobo posameznih lesnih vrst na prostem v osrednji Sloveniji. Na Oddelku za lesarstvo zato že več let potekajo testi, s katerimi določamo odpornost bukovine v tretjem razredu uporabe (na prostem, ni v stiku z zemljo). Prvi znaki glivnega razkroja se pojavijo že po nekaj mesecih izpostavitve, kasneje se razkroj nadaljuje, vzorci pa povsem propadejo po 4 do 6 letih izpostavitve. Glavni razlog za dovzetnost bukovine za glivni razkroj je povezan z odsotnostjo biološko aktivnih snovi (ekstraktivov) in dejstvom, da se bukovina relativno hitro navlaži. Z namenom proučiti dinamiko vlaženja bukovine smo petnajst mesecev stalno spremljali vlažnost lesa v različnih razmerah uporabe. Pričakujemo, da bomo skozi daljše obdobje spremljanja relevantnih lastnosti bukovine, preostalih lesnih vrst in modificiranega lesa pridobili podatke, ki bodo omogočili širšo rabo bukovega lesa na prostem. Beech wood is amongst the most important wood species in Slovenia. The EU standard EN 350-2 classifies beech wood into the group of the least durable wood species. This is one of the most important reasons which limit the use of beech wood in outdoor applications. The majority of the data about beech wood durability is a result of laboratory tests as there were limited numbers of field tests performed. As the service life of wood significantly depends on the local climate conditions, this data cannot be simply copied from other countries. Therefore, field tests have been running at the field test site of the Department of Wood Science and Technology for several years now to determine comprehensive performance of most important Slovenian wood species including beech wood. Majority of the tests are performed in use class 3 applications (above ground, not covered). The first signs of decay on beech wood are visible after few months of exposure. Afterwards the decay proceeds and the samples are degraded between 4 and 6 years of exposure. The most important reasons for insufficient outdoor performance of beech wood are lack of biologically active extractives and low water exclusion efficacy. In order to elucidate this phenomenon moisture content was continuously monitored for 15 months. We believe that the field tests performed will lead us to the data which will enable better understanding of the phenomena of durability and improve durability of beech wood with state of the art modification solutions.

Beech is one of the most important tree species in Slovenia. Unfortunately, there is much more beech wood incremented annually than consumed. Thus, it is of great importance to develop new applications for use of beech wood. One of the possible solutions is use of beech in outdoor applications. However, if beech is used outdoor it has to be somehow protected. In the recent period, non-biocidal methods of wood protection such as thermal modification and use of wax emulsions are gaining more and more importance, hence we applied these two methods to beech wood in present research as well. During the research, water exclusion efficacy of wood was determined. Wood was subjected to various abiotic and biotic degradation protocols. The results exhibited that the best water performance was achieved in wax treated thermally modified beech. Water performance of wax treated wood was not affected by abiotic and biotic degradation factors. By contrast, the aging protocols applied considerably reduced water exclusion efficacy of beech and thermally modified beech wood.

Beech wood is amongst the most important wood species in Slovenia. The EU standard EN 350-2 classifies beech wood into the group of the least durable wood species. This is one of the most important reasons which limit the use of beech wood in outdoor applications. The majority of the data about beech wood durability is a result of laboratory tests as there were limited numbers of field tests performed. As the service life of wood significantly depends on the local climate conditions, this data cannot be simply copied from other countries. Therefore, field tests have been running at the field test site of the Department of Wood Science and Technology for several years now to determine comprehensive performance of most important Slovenian wood species including beech wood. Majority of the tests are performed in use class 3 applications (above ground, not covered). The first signs of decay on beech wood are visible after few months of exposure. Afterwards the decay proceeds and the samples are degraded between 4 and 6 years of exposure. The most important reasons for insufficient outdoor performance of beech wood are lack of biologically active extractives and low water exclusion efficacy. In order to elucidate this phenomenon moisture content was continuously monitored for 15 months. We believe that the field tests performed will lead us to the data which will enable better understanding of the phenomena of durability and improve durability of beech wood with state of the art modification solutions.