Natural durability of heartwoods from European and tropical Africa trees exposed to marine conditions

Marine durability of heartwoods obtained from tropical African and European species against marine borer attacks in underwater exposure in Turkish coasts was investigated. Test hangers including wood species of 18 European and 15 African wood species were fastened to test area and exposed at a depth of 6 m along the coasts of seas (East and West Black Sea, Marmara Sea, Aegean, East and West coasts of mediterranean in Turkey seashore). Most European wood samples suffered severe attacks from boring organisms. On the other hand, some tropical African species (Lophira alata, Nauclea diderichii, Tieghemella heckelii, Chlorophora excelsa, Distemonanthus benthamianus, Pterocarpus soyauxii and Millettia laurentii) showed high natural marine durability in all seas, while the rest of them were only slightly degraded by boring organisms. The test areas in Trabzon, Eregli and iskenderun cities which are industrial harbours were shown to have the highest boring attacks. Other test areas, Bandirma, Alacati and Finike which are yacht marinas were shown to have little boring and fouling attacks.