Within this study, the effect of different cross section dimensions on wood moisture content (MC), time of wetness (ToW), and fungal decay development of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) and Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris L.) was examined. Specimens with ten different quadratic and rectangular cross sections were exposed horizontally in Hannover, Germany, and monitored for a period of 5 years. MC and temperature were recorded daily and data sets were submitted to a dose-response model based on material climatic data for evaluating the respective decay risk of the different specimen types. After 5 years of outdoor exposure timber dimension was found to be correlated neither with wood MC nor with decay development. However, time of wetness and decay were more severe in pine sapwood compared to spruce. Regarding onset and further development of decay, cracks as well as contact faces turned out to be weak points, but interior rot was observed as well. Brown rot, which occurred predominantly in the specimens, was partly difficult or even impossible to detect from the outside, but caused severe degradation also in small-dimensioned samples.
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