How is the wood Venice is built on not decomposing over time?

Question

(Not sure about the flair.. sorry)
Wooden beams in earth (like with fences) rot over the years and break.
I was under the impression that this was because of water.
Shouldn’t Venice “sink” because of rotten beams?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

as others said you need oxygen in order for it to attract organisms that can break down wood; There used to be a show called swamp loggers, where they would try to fish ancient (like 10000yr old) logs out of swamps. Then turn them into things like counter tops and different things.

Answer 2

Amsterdam is similarly build on a lot of wooden poles. Because the ground water has always been high enough, some of these beams easily last for centuries. I’m assuming the same principles are at work in Venice.

https://medium.com/big-questions/beautiful-amsterdam-built-on-poles-who-would-pay-if-it-all-fell-down-7ae7436a73de

Answer 3

Because if the wood is submerged it doesn’t rot, you need to add air to the equation in order for the bacteria to get to the wood to start the decomposition process.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

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