AWPA Biodeterioration Hazard Map Revisited

摘要

The fungal decay hazard map used by the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) currently describes regional decay hazards in ground contact for North America and is based on condition assessments of utility poles from the 1970's. Current work atthe USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory is underway to analyze soil and wood samples from several National Forests in the different AWPA hazard zones and evaluate fungal biodiversity using next-generation sequencing (NGS) of fungal DNA. The results of these analyses will provide fungal biodiversity data to contribute to the existing map and improve our understanding of how fungal biodiversity relates to regional biodeterioration rates. This paper is intended to provide a history of the AWPAdecay hazard map, an overview of the current FPL project, and discuss some preliminary biodiversity study results.