Fieldwork in Hawaii: Testing Wood for Decay and Termite Resistance in Paradise

摘要

Michigan Tech has been conducting wood preservative research at various field sites in Hawaii since 1980. A field trip to one of these sites was offered during the 2013 AWPA Annual Meeting held in Honolulu. We currently have a total of seven terrestrial research field sites in the United States of which two are in Hawaii - one near Keaau on the Big Island of Hawaii and the other near Kailua on the island of Oahu. These two sites are referred to as Kipuka and Maunawili, respectively. We use the Kipukasite primarily for aboveground test methods (e.g. AWPA E9, E16, and E18) because of its high Scheffer index (a measure of aboveground decay rate). This is demonstrated by E16 and El 8 results comparing the aboveground decay rate at the two sites using aspen wood test specimens. The Maunawili site is used mostly for ground-contact testing (AWPA E7), and termite tests. Ground contact test results from exposing southern pine field stakes at both sites confirm the higher decay rate at Maunawili, probably because of the older soils and subsequent greater microbial diversity. This site also has high termite populations in certain areas. AWPA E21 and E26 termite exposure test methods are currently being used at Maunawili. The windward Hawaii islands can provide excellent sites for wood preservative testing.