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Sustained wood moisture content above 25 percent is the controlling condition for fungal decay initiation in above-ground timber.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

In plain terms

6 studies are indexed, but only 1 has been classified for or against — too few to state a consensus, so no share is calculated yet.

This sentence is generated from the same numbers shown below — consensus share, confidence band and the number of indexed studies. Open any section to see exactly how it was reached.

Version 12 · WI-EV v1.2.0 · last swept 2026-10-14

Evidence Score

Insufficient evidence

6 relevant studies, 1 directional (3 needed).

Confidence

Low confidence

Too few, too old or too conflicting sources to specify from.

Consensus

Not yet calculated

1 support · 0 contradict · 5 relevant – no direction · 1 directional

Studies

6

1999–2020

Insufficient evidence: 1 relevant directional study (3 needed for a score).

Behind the answer

All of the data, one click away.

Nothing here is hidden — it is folded, so the answer stays readable. Open any section to see exactly how the numbers were produced.

How the score is built6 weighted components, —/100 total
Volume of evidence

1 directional studies, weighted by grade.

1/30
Study quality

Mean evidence grade 65/100 across the pool.

16/25
Agreement

Not scored: only 1 directional study (3 needed).

0/20
Peer review

100% published in peer-reviewed venues.

10/10
Recency

Median publication year 2008.

4/10
Reproducibility

17% resolvable by DOI and independently checkable.

1/5
Where the literature disagreesNo direct contradictions in the indexed pool

No direct contradictions in the indexed pool. That is not the same as agreement — it can also mean too few directional studies have been published to disagree yet.

How the consensus moved over timeConsensus recomputed using only the evidence published up to each year
YearPublishedCumulativeSupportContradictConsensus
199911000%
20001210100%
20082410100%
20181510100%
20201610100%
Revision history12 published revisions
  1. v12Re-swept; no change to the published figures.2026-10-12 · score insufficient · 100%
  2. v11WI-EV v1.2.0 relevance fix: 16 of 23 previously counted studies removed as not relevant (reasons kept in the public audit log); 7 relevant studies remain, 1 directional. Evidence Score withheld: insufficient evidence.2026-10-12 · score insufficient · 100%
  3. v101 new study indexed.2026-10-10 · score 31 · 100%
  4. v91 new study indexed, Evidence Score -1 to 31.2026-09-24 · score 31 · 100%
  5. v81 new study indexed.2026-09-01 · score 32 · 100%
  6. v73 new studies indexed.2026-08-16 · score 32 · 100%
  7. v61 new study indexed, Evidence Score -1 to 32.2026-08-10 · score 32 · 100%
  8. v52 new studies indexed, Evidence Score -1 to 33.2026-08-09 · score 33 · 100%
  9. v4Evidence Score -20 to 34.2026-08-08 · score 34 · 100%
  10. v3Evidence Score +1 to 54, consensus 0% → 100%.2026-08-08 · score 54 · 100%
  11. v214 new studies indexed, Evidence Score +53 to 53.2026-08-08 · score 53 · 0%
  12. v214 new studies indexed, Evidence Score +53 to 53.2026-08-08 · score 53 · 0%
Every indexed record6 studies with stance, grade and citation count

Wood-water relationships and their role for wood susceptibility to fungal decay

Christian Brischke, Gry Alfredsen · 2020 · Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology · doi:10.1007/s00253-020-10479-1

Full text: The review finds variable moisture thresholds and major methodological limits; it does not establish that sustained moisture above 25% uniquely controls decay initiation in above-ground timber. — “Further unknowns are the minimum wood volume that needs to exceed a certain MMThr and the time needed to allow for onset of decay under such marginal conditions.”

Relevant – no direction

Judged from full text

Grade A · 179 citations

Peer-reviewed

Moisture in modified wood and its relevance for fungal decay

EE Thybring, M Kymäläinen, L Rautkari · 2018 · iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry · doi:10.3832/ifor2406-011

The review identifies moisture as essential to decay but does not establish sustained moisture above 25 percent as controlling.

Stance not stated in abstract

Judged from abstract

Grade B · 41 citations

Peer-reviewed

Decay of Wood and Wood-Based Products Above Ground in Buildings

CG Carll, TL Highley · 1999 · Journal of Testing and Evaluation · doi:10.1520/jte12054j

The overview discusses moisture, temperature, and inoculation conditions for above-ground decay but gives no 25 percent threshold finding.

Stance not stated in abstract

Judged from abstract

Grade B · 71 citations

Peer-reviewed

Excluded as not relevant17 studies removed from the pool and every score component. Kept here for audit with the reason.

MoistNet: Machine Vision-based Deep Learning Models for Wood Chip Moisture Content Measurement

The study measures wood-chip moisture for industrial quality control, without examining fungal decay or above-ground timber.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2024.125363

Robust Cross-Domain Adaptation in Texture Features Transferring for Wood Chip Moisture Content Prediction

The study predicts wood-chip moisture for biofuel production, not fungal decay initiation in above-ground timber.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12

Wood proximate and physical propertyanalysis of Lubeg (Syzygium lineatum DC.) Merr. & L. M. Perry) tree species in Apayao

The study measures wood composition and physical properties without examining fungal decay.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.5281/zenodo.18765846

Oak wilt disease may reduce the initial decay rate of dead Quercus serrata stems by altering wood-inhabiting fungal communities

The ecological study examines oak-wilt effects on deadwood fungi and decay rates, not above-ground construction timber moisture thresholds.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.5281/zenodo.14172349

Impact of hygro-mechanical loading on crack initiation and propagation in orthotropic media : A numerical modeling approach

The study models moisture-induced mechanical cracking, not fungal decay.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1016/j.euromechsol.2025.106011

Evaluating wood-based composites for incipient fungal decay with the immunodiagnostic wood decay test.

The work evaluates an immunodiagnostic decay test without addressing moisture exposure or a 25 percent threshold.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.2737/fpl-gtr-142

Measuring wood fungal decay by ultrasonic methods

The work concerns ultrasonic measurement of existing fungal decay rather than moisture-controlled initiation.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.31274/rtd-180813-8420

Experimental investigation on the effect of detail design on wood moisture content in outdoor above ground applications

The study examines design effects on above-ground wood moisture without measuring fungal decay initiation.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.08.023

Colonization and Control of Decay by Trichoderma in Douglas-Fir and Southern Pine Exposed Above Ground

The title concerns Trichoderma colonization and decay control above ground, not moisture conditions for decay initiation.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-9450-2_23

Impact of Moisture Decay on Seismic Vulnerability: Haiti’s Wood-FramedVernacular Buildings

The study examines moisture damage effects on seismic vulnerability without testing a decay-initiation moisture threshold.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.14293/icmb230040

Equilibrium moisture content and the movement of water through wood above fibre saturation

The study concerns water movement and equilibrium moisture without fungal decay testing.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1007/bf00229342

Studies into Fungal Decay of Wood In Ground Contact—Part 1: The Influence of Water-Holding Capacity, Moisture Content, and Temperature of Soil Substrates on Fungal Decay of Selected Timbers

The study examines decay in ground contact, a different exposure from above-ground timber.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.3390/f11121284

Resistance against fungal decay of Scots pine sapwood modified with phenol-formaldehyde resins with substitution of phenol by lignin pyrolysis products

The study tests resin-modified wood decay resistance without addressing an above-ground 25 percent moisture threshold.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1515/hf-2023-0119

Novel polarization-type moisture meter for determining moisture content of wood above fibre saturation point

The work concerns moisture measurement above fibre saturation, not fungal decay initiation.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1007/s00107-021-01682-6

Review of Wood Modification and Wood Functionalization Technologies

The review concerns wood modification technologies without testing moisture thresholds for above-ground decay initiation.

Classifier · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.3390/f13071004

A starting guide to root ecology: strengthening ecological concepts and standardising root classification, sampling, processing and trait measurements.

Off-domain (ecology); no wood-domain term in title or abstract.

Wood-domain rule · WI-EV v1.2.0 · 2026-10-12
doi:10.1111/nph.17572

Stance classification is automated and reviewed against each record's own abstract; it is a reading of the literature, not a measurement. The Evidence Score is a rule-based function of indexed metadata under method WI-EV v1.2.0 and does not constitute proof of the statement.

Cite this claim

Citable, versioned, machine-readable.

Each claim keeps a permanent URL and a version number. Cite the version you read — earlier conclusions stay visible in the revision history above.

APA
WoodIntel. (2026). Sustained wood moisture content above 25 percent is the controlling condition for fungal decay initiation in above-ground timber. (Evidence Engine WI-EV v1.2.0, claim version 12). Retrieved 2026-10-14, from https://woodintel.io/evidence/moisture-content-threshold-decay
BibTeX
@misc{woodintel_moisture_content_threshold_decay_2026,
  title  = {Sustained wood moisture content above 25 percent is the controlling condition for fungal decay initiation in above-ground timber.},
  author = {{WoodIntel}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Evidence Engine WI-EV v1.2.0, claim version 12, accessed 2026-10-14},
  url    = {https://woodintel.io/evidence/moisture-content-threshold-decay}
}
Open API
curl https://woodintel.io/api/public/v1/evidence?claim=moisture-content-threshold-decay

Returns the score, the indexed studies with stance and grade, the contradictions, the timeline and the full revision history. Open under CC BY 4.0 — API documentation.