Decay Detection
/dee-KAY dih-TEK-shun/🌲 Arboriculture●●● Advanced
Also known as: internal assessment, wood decay assessment
Decay detection encompasses various technologies and techniques used to assess internal wood condition in standing trees. Methods include visual indicators (fruiting bodies, cavities, loose bark), sounding (tapping with a mallet), resistance drilling (resistograph), sonic tomography (mapping sound wave speed), electrical resistance tomography, and increment boring. These tools help arborists quantify decay extent for risk assessment.
Etymology
From Latin de- (down) + cadere (to fall) + Latin detegere (to uncover)
Example
“Sonic tomography revealed that 60% of the trunk cross-section had internal decay not visible externally.”