PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu Hızal (2024). “Woods used in Turkish housing,” BioResources 19(1), 872-885. 872 Species and Deterioration of Woods Used in a Traditional Turkish House Kamile Tırak Hızal * This study identified the wood species and evaluated the weathering and biological degradation of historical timber from a traditional Turkish house in Konuralp, Türkiye. The wood material was obtained from the floorboards, window frames, cabinets, cripple studs, ceiling boards, and joists. The species were identified as Pinus spp. for the cabinet, window frame, and cripple stud, Abies spp. for the floorboards, Populus spp. for the ceiling boards, and Quercus spp. for the joist. The macroscopic observation revealed multiple types of degradation caused by weathering, fungi, and insect attacks. The cripple studs made of pine and the floorboards made of fir had become completely unusable due to insect damage. Relatively less biological damage was observed on the cabinet made of pine wood and the ceiling boards made of poplar wood. DOI: 10.15376/biores.19.1.872-885 Keywords: Historical timber; Wood anatomy; Wood identification; Konuralp house; Biodegradation Contact information: Vocational School of Forestry, Düzce University, 81620, Düzce, Türkiye; * Corresponding author: kamiletirak@duzce.edu.tr INTRODUCTION In recent years, countries with natural, historical, and cultural principles and riches have started to give more importance to these values. Türkiye is rich in terms of both the diversity and importance of historical, natural, and cultural assets. The transfer of these assets to future generations will be ensured by their protection. For this purpose, it is important to conduct the necessary maintenance and repair practices on schedule. The most important point to be considered in maintenance and repair works is that the originality of the work is preserved and that it continues to bear the traces of the period to which it belongs. People must meet their important needs such as protection, shelter, and security, to continue their lives in natural and artificial environments (Arcan and Evci 1991). The cultural values of societies, the traditions that have been ongoing for years, have a long history that makes a society and builds its presence. The most concrete indicator of the traditional behaviors of societies is traditional housing culture, that is, home architecture. Traditional houses are one of the most beautiful forms that can display the material elements of the culture that has emerged because of the cultural assets that people have accumulated from the past to the present and their interactions with neighboring cultures (Gök and Kayserili 2013). Because of the existence of many different cultures and the characteristics of the climate, different materials are used locally in house construction. It is known that materials, such as wood, stone, and adobe, are used in the construction of houses in various regions of Anatolia.