<p>The fracture resistances of pinewood under I and II loading modes were investigated experimentally for different crack plane orientations and the crack propagation direction parallel to longitudinal cells. Experiments were conducted on double cantilever beam and end-notched flexure specimens using a digital image correlation system to evaluate the crack tip opening and slip displacements. The compliance based beam method was used to determine the variation of energy release rate with crack length for the two loading modes. The decomposition of crack propagation into the pre-peak and post-peak propagations was proposed to find the fracture energy contributions from individual toughening mechanisms in pinewood. The cohesive strengths measured in the fracture tests were confirmed by comparison with the tensile and shear strengths determined in the separate tests performed on non-cracked specimens. The difference between the fracture energy values in different crack propagation systems was explained by using X-ray microtomography images of the fracture surfaces. The exponential cohesive zone model was used to predict the fracture behavior of pinewood under I and II loading modes. The predictions are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.</p>