Microfungi potentially disfiguring CCA-treated wood

The work reported here investigated the fungal community inhabiting from the CCA-treated radiata pine board stored at the yard of a commercial treatment plant in Incheon, Korea. From five treated boards, 22 fungal species were isolated and then characterized using both traditional morphology and molecular identification. The species identified included 16 ascomycetes and six basidiomycetes. Ascomycetous fungi predominated over basidiomycetous fungi in the surface area of the CCA-treated board and comprised nearly 90% of all isolates. Among all the isolates, five microfungi, Phoma herbarum, Phoma glomerata, Cladosporium oxysporum, Penicillium stoloniferum, and Cladosporium sphaerospermum, were the dominant species. These species could be candidate ‘tolerant and potential staining’ species that colonize, stain and/or degrade CCA-treated radiata pine board.