The percentage of wood blocks infested by termites ranged from67% for the buried maple and birch blocks, to 100% for the surfacemaple blocks. No significant relationship between wood species and the likelihood of termite infestation was observed. There was also no significant relationship between vertical placement (surface versus buried) of wood blocks and likelihood of infestation. Mass loss was observed in all wood species for both surface and buried positions except for the surface pine in the termite-absent microcosms (Fig. 2a), albeit marked increases in the total mass of N suggested that the wood biomass was being