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Wood Anatomy, Chemistry and Physical Properties

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Biodeterioration of Wooden Cultural Heritage

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to basic elements of wood anatomy, chemistry and physical properties, aiming to assist with the understanding of the morphological and physicochemical alterations occurring in wood due to biodeterioration.

Wood is examined through the perspective of botany and observed as the main tissue system of a vascular plant. The xylogenesis process is then presented, in which cells produced by the vascular cambium differentiate into mature xylem via cell walls expansion, thickening, lignification and programmed cell death. Anatomy of softwoods’ and hardwoods’ xylem cell types follows, where parenchyma cells, tracheids, fibres and vessels along with features of their ultrastructure are described. The wood tissue is also examined macroscopically and characteristics observed on the transverse plane are mentioned.

Furthermore, the chemistry of the secondary xylem is introduced through the description of the three major chemical structural components, cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Special reference is given to the cellulose polymer and to the aggregation of its β-d-glucose units to elementary fibrils, microfibrils and macrofibrils. Hemicelluloses’ principal groups like xylans, mannans, xyloglucans and galactans are discussed, whereas for lignin, the participation of p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl and syringyl units within its macromolecule is outlined. Moreover, the topochemistry of the wood cell walls is further examined, where the middle lamella, primary and secondary wall are described in relation to their chemical composition. The non-structural fraction of wood, consisting of extractives and some inorganic compounds, is briefly referred to. The last part of the chapter deals with aspects of wood physical properties such as hygroscopicity, shrinkage/swelling and density, while mention is also made on the mechanical properties of wood.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Tracheary from trachea (τραχέα) in Greek: duct (vasculum in Latin).

  2. 2.

    Coniferophyta is synonymous to Pinophyta (Gymnospermae clade: naked seed), conifers, softwoods.

  3. 3.

    Magnoliophyta is synonymous to Anthophyta (Agiospermae clade: seed closed into a fruit), broadleaves, hardwoods.

  4. 4.

    Xylem from xylon (ξύλον) in Greek: wood.

  5. 5.

    Phloem from phloios (φλοιός) in Greek: bark.

  6. 6.

    Meristem from meristos (μεριστός) in Greek: divisible (Singh et al. 1987).

  7. 7.

    Libriform fibres bear simple to minutely bordered pits, whereas fibre-tracheids bear bordered pits (Wheeler et al. 1989).

  8. 8.

    Compression wood is a type of abnormal tissue formed in conifers at the lower side of lining stems in response to gravitational or to mechanical stimuli, and has more lignin and less cellulose than normal wood. Tension wood is formed in hardwoods under similar stimuli on the upper side of leaning stems and contains less lignin and more cellulose than normal wood. Compression and tension wood are termed collectivelly “reaction wood” (Panshin and de Zeeuw 1980; Tsoumis 1991).

  9. 9.

    In solution the open-chain form of β-d glucose is mainly present in a cyclic form and is named β-d glucopyranose.

  10. 10.

    Wood carbohydrates, cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectins are called collectively “holocellulose” (Tsoumis 1991).

  11. 11.

    This layer can be referred as tertiary layer or tertiary wall; however, this terminology is not accepted by wood anatomists (Panshin and de Zeeuw 1980).

  12. 12.

    MC = (wet weigh − oven dried weight)/oven dried weight.

  13. 13.

    Stress (σ) is defined as the force or load per unit area or volume and is expressed in N/mm2.

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  1. Dept. of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

    Anastasia Pournou

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Pournou, A. (2020). Wood Anatomy, Chemistry and Physical Properties. In: Biodeterioration of Wooden Cultural Heritage. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46504-9_1

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