Pyrogenic Impact on the Properties of Pine Wood in the Northern Taiga Subzone. P. 63–76

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630.43:58.02:543.2

DOI:

10.37482/0536-1036-2026-4-63-76

Abstract

The forests of the north of European Russia have been well studied in many respects; however, the impact of wildfires on wood quality remains insufficiently understood. In response to pyrogenic stress, higher plants develop specific reactions similar to those triggered by various types of climatic stressors. The research aimed at examining the chemical composition, properties, and structural features of post-pyrogenic wood of northern taiga pine, as well as assessing the potential for using such wood in biorefining technologies. The Scots pine is a good target species for research as a typical representative of light coniferous forests, which are most susceptible to wildfires. A set of physicochemical methods was used to assess changes in the wood tissue main components. We observed thermal degradation of wood components (cellulose and lignin) due to pyrogenic stress (by 10–13 % in average), as well as a decrease in carbon and hydrogen content (by 16 and 17 %, respectively) in wood tissues in the most fire-damaged butt end of viable trees, along with a 16 % increase in oxygen content. Thermal exposure to the tissues of Scots pine trunks during a ground fire has been found to cause changes not only in the tissue composition but also in the tissue structure. A decrease, followed by a sharp increase in radial growth, was observed in damaged but viable trees several years after the fire. It has been shown that wood of trees damaged by a moderate-intensity ground fire, harvested at a height of 1.3 m and above, does not differ in its chemical composition and physicochemical properties from reference samples of wood that were not exposed to fire stress. Such wood can be used as raw material in the pulp and paper industry.

Funding: The research was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Acknowledgements: The equipment of the Center for Collective Use of Scientific Equipment (FECIAR UB RAS) was used in the research.

Authors

Anna A. Krasikova^1*, Candidate of Chemistry, Senior Research Scientist; ResearcherID: AAH-5816-2020, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6040-2026
Maria A. Gusakova¹, Candidate of Engineering, Leading Research Scientist; ResearcherID: AAB-5528-2019, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2937-2604
Nikolay A. Neverov¹, Candidate of Agriculture, Senior Research Scientist; ResearcherID: P-5590-2015, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0161-0738
Mikhail V. Surso¹, Doctor of Agriculture, Chief Research Scientist; ResearcherID: J-2197-2018, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7482-9848
Sergey S. Khviyuzov¹, Candidate of Chemistry, Senior Research Scientist; ResearcherID: AAH-9795-2020, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4810-2378
Konstantin G. Bogolitsyn^1,2, Doctor of Chemistry, Chief Research Scientist, Prof.; ResearcherID: AAA-6432-2019, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-0483

Affiliation

¹N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russia; ann.krasikova@gmail.com*, mariya_gusakova@mail.ru, na-neverov@yandex.ru, surso@fciarctic.ru, khviyuzov.s@yandex.ru
²Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russia; k.bogolitsin@narfu.ru

Keywords

post-pyrogenic wood, core wood, sapwood, Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, ground fire, IR spectroscopy

For citation

Krasikova A.A., Gusakova M.A., Neverov N.A., Surso M.V., Khviyuzov S.S., Bogolitsyn K.G. Pyrogenic Impact on the Properties of Pine Wood in the Northern Taiga Subzone. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2026, no. 4, pp. 63–76. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2026-4-63-76

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