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Thermal modification measurably increases the decay resistance of softwood in above-ground exterior use.

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

In plain terms

14 studies are indexed, but none has yet been classified for or against, so the record cannot answer this either way.

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 2 · WI-EV v1.0.0 · last swept 2026-08-04

Evidence Score

61

0–100, rule-based

Confidence

Low confidence

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

Consensus

0%

0 support · 0 contradict

Studies

14

2008–2022

Confidence is limited most by volume of evidence (0/30).

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, 61/100 total
Volume of evidence

0 directional studies, weighted by grade.

0/30
Study quality

Mean evidence grade 74/100 across the pool.

19/25
Agreement

0% of weighted directional evidence agrees.

20/20
Peer review

100% published in peer-reviewed venues.

10/10
Recency

Median publication year 2016.

7/10
Reproducibility

100% resolvable by DOI and independently checkable.

5/5
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
200822000%
201113000%
201536000%
201628000%
201719000%
2018110000%
2020313000%
2022114000%
Revision history1 published revision
  1. v214 new studies indexed, Evidence Score +61 to 61.2026-08-04 · score 61 · 0%
Every indexed record14 studies with stance, grade and citation count

Fundamentals and applications of photo-thermal catalysis

Diego Mateo, Jose L. Cerrillo, Sara Durini et al. · 2020 · Chemical Society Reviews · doi:10.1039/d0cs00357c

Photo-thermal catalysis does not directly address thermally modified softwood durability.

Neutral

Grade A · 758 citations

Peer-reviewed

Moisture in modified wood and its relevance for fungal decay

Emil Engelund Thybring, Maritta Kymäläinen, Lauri Rautkari · 2018 · iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry · doi:10.3832/ifor2406-011

The moisture review provides no indexed abstract directly establishing increased above-ground decay resistance in thermally modified softwood.

Neutral

Grade B · 46 citations

Peer-reviewed

Wood modification technologies - a review

Dick Sandberg, Andreja Kutnar, George I. Mantanis · 2017 · iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry · doi:10.3832/ifor2380-010

The broad technology review provides no indexed abstract establishing above-ground softwood decay performance.

Neutral

Grade B · 472 citations

Peer-reviewed

The wood from the trees: The use of timber in construction

Michael H. Ramage, Henry C. Burridge, Marta Busse‐Wicher et al. · 2016 · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.107

The construction review title does not establish measured decay resistance from thermal modification.

Neutral

Grade B · 1343 citations

Peer-reviewed

The Search for Durable Exterior Clear Coatings for Wood

Philip D. Evans, Jonathan G. Haase, Anasyida Abu Seman et al. · 2015 · Coatings · doi:10.3390/coatings5040830

Exterior clear-coating durability does not directly test thermal modification's effect on softwood decay resistance.

Neutral

Grade B · 106 citations

Peer-reviewed

Wood modification by heat treatment: A review

Bruno Esteves, Helena M. Pereira · 2008 · BioResources · doi:10.15376/biores.4.1.esteves

The heat-treatment review provides no indexed abstract establishing measured above-ground decay resistance in softwood.

Neutral

Grade B · 835 citations

Peer-reviewed

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 v1.0.0and 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). Thermal modification measurably increases the decay resistance of softwood in above-ground exterior use. (Evidence Engine WI-EV v1.0.0, claim version 2). Retrieved 2026-08-04, from https://woodintel.io/evidence/thermal-modification-durability
BibTeX
@misc{woodintel_thermal_modification_durability_2026,
  title  = {Thermal modification measurably increases the decay resistance of softwood in above-ground exterior use.},
  author = {{WoodIntel}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Evidence Engine WI-EV v1.0.0, claim version 2, accessed 2026-08-04},
  url    = {https://woodintel.io/evidence/thermal-modification-durability}
}
Open API
curl https://woodintel.io/api/public/v1/evidence?claim=thermal-modification-durability

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.