The rate of disappearance of buried pine wood in Florida was found to be 15%/yr.As consumption by microorganisms and termites proceeded, the wood also became more compressible. After only 5 yr, consumption and compression could account for 60-70% loss of original volume of wood under pavement near the surface of an embankment. This large volume loss occurring in a relatively short time period may be responsible for many surface deformations in pavements and weaknesses in other embankments where wood may occur as a contaminant.