Thermal modified wood has some advantages over natural wood, including decreased hygroscopicity, increased dimensional stability, and enhanced durability. In this study, European species of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), spruce (Picea orientalis), ash (Fraxinus spp.), and tropical species of tali (Erythrophleum ivorense), and iroko (Chlorophora excelsa) were thermally treated at 180 °C and 210 °C for 1,5 and 2 h, respectively. We evaluated the resistances of the untreated and thermally treated samples to decay induced by the white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor and two brown rot fungi, Coniophora puteana and Postia placenta. In addition, the samples were exposed to the termite Reticulitermes grassei and the longhorn beetle species Hylotrupes bajulus to evaluate their resistance to damageby the insects. During the heat treatment, the mass loss of the samples generally was between 9 and 14%. After the heat treatment, experiments were conducted to determine the effects of white and brown rot fungi on samples of Scots pine and tali, the effect of C. puteana on spruce, and the effects of C. puteana and P. placenta on ash and iroko. In all experiments, the mass loss due to damage from the various fungi was less than 1% for the samples that had been heat treated at 210 °C. The untreated and heat-treated tropical species exhibited higher durability withvery low mass loss and 100% mortality of the insects when attacked by termites, whereas the other wood species had moderate attack. In addition, Hylotrupes bajulus exposure by two standart methods (EN 46 and 47) resulted in similar performances in most cases, although EN 47 treated samples at 210 °C showed improved durability for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and spruce (Picea orientalis).

The field of wood protection is currently changing due to the restrictions imposed by the Biocidal Products Regulation. The need for development of new wood protection technologies is therefore growing. In this work, the resistance of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood impregnated with nano-dispersions of zinc oxide (nano-ZnO) and zinc borate (nano-ZnB) against the termite Reticulitermes grassei Clement was investigated. Three different concentrations (0.5%, 1%, 2%) of the nanocompounds were tested. The effects of water leaching were also investigated. A severe effect in terms of termite workers mortality was induced by both dispersions, even at the lowest concentration. In terms of termite feeding, nano-ZnO dispersions appeared to be more efficient than nano-ZnB as they induced significant improvement at concentrations as low as 0.5%. Nano-ZnB was applied at 1% or higher concentrations in order to impart similar changes. Nano-ZnB dispersions were efficient in terms of termite resistance for a concentration at least 1%. Further increasing concentration to 2% resulted in a respective increase of wood efficacy against termites. For both tested nanocompounds, water leaching did not result in any significant increase of termite feeding.

For the first time, the wood anatomy of Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters has been studied using representative samples from its natural distribution area in Spain, in Sierra de Cartagena (Region of Murcia). Mature wood was collected from five individuals representative of the forest stand and their anatomy was compared with other genera of the Cupressaceae. Axial tracheids without helical thickenings, low homogeneous rays, cupressoid pits and the absence of normal axial resin canals are characteristic features of this monotypic genus, as they are of most other Cupressaceae genera. An obvious warty layer separates this wood from the genera sharing its territory (Cupressus and Juniperus) and its semi-spherical, slightly anastomosed warts distinguish it from other, geographically distant genera (Actinostrobus and Callitris). The presence of traumatic axial resin canals is reported for the first time and supports the occurrence of this feature outside the Pinaceae. The wood anatomical diversity within the clade comprising Tetraclinis, Microbiota and Platycladus, as reconstructed by molecular analysis, is discussed.

Increasing aridity is a major threat to forests worldwide. Understanding tree functional constraints under drought and their impacts on resilience and mortality among species is crucial to assess the impacts of global change on forests. We analyzed the long‐term drought and atmospheric CO₂ responses in three Mediterranean co‐occurring species with differing drought tolerances (Pinus pinaster < Pinus pinea < Juniperus oxycedrus). In this mixed forest, P. pinaster exhibited widespread mortality and mistletoe infection, P. pinea showed scattered mortality, and J. oxycedrus showed no decline. Using tree‐ring data (1978–2016), we compared intrinsic water‐use efficiency (iWUE) and xylem hydraulic traits in healthy and non‐healthy individuals of both pine species and healthy junipers. Healthy P. pinaster trees produced a more hydraulically efficient xylem, with wider lumen tracheids, than non‐healthy trees, whereas P. pinea showed no anatomical differences between health statuses. Healthy P. pinaster displayed greater anatomical plasticity, adjusting hydraulic conductivity and cell‐wall thickness to water availability. Despite small differences in average iWUE, the response of iWUE to rising CO₂ and drought differed between species and health statuses. J. oxycedrus and P. pinea showed steady iWUE increases, but P. pinea experienced periods of stagnation following an extreme drought, later recovering regardless of health status. In contrast, iWUE in P. pinaster plateaued for over 20 years after a decline‐inducing drought, particularly in non‐healthy, mistletoe‐infected trees. Differences in iWUE response to CO₂ and anatomical plasticity to drought may explain the contrasting mortality patterns among these coniferous species. Our results suggest a long‐term decline spiral in P. pinaster induced by low hydraulic efficiency in drought‐induced defoliated trees and limited physiological responses to rising CO₂ and drought. Increasing drought stress makes pine recovery increasingly unlikely.