Abstract
The degradation of stone materials depends on several interlinked factors. The effects caused by biodeteriogens on mineral-based substrates are now increasingly considered in the field of cultural heritage conservation from different experimental approaches. In this study, biodeteriogenic micro- and macroflora within the gothic building of Santa Maria della Pietà, Squillace, Calabria, have been analyzed using multiple approaches, such as optical microscopy and molecular techniques. All 17 plant species detected are usually widespread in Mediterranean regions and some of these, such as Ailanthus altissima and Ficus carica, showed a very high hazard index, which is potentially dangerous for masonry stability. Fungi, cyanobacteria, and green algae were identified within biofilm compositions in a total of 23 different taxa, showing many similarities with microbial associations commonly found in cave and hypogean environments. All of the 11 fungal taxa detected belong to Ascomycota phylum, with Penicillium as the most represented genus. Photoautotrophic organisms are mostly represented by filamentous genera, with widespread presence of Leptolyngbya as the most abundant genus. The results highlighted how the singular environmental conditions of the study site, combined with the architectural features and the building materials, determined all the degradation phenomena affecting the building’s internal surfaces, compromising over time the structural integrity.
Highlights
Historic buildings, like all materials exposed to the external environment, are interconnected with surrounding abiotic and biotic factors
We found that the four species with the highest dangerous impact are woody plants all belonging to Phanerophytes, characterized by strong and deep root systems
We found that Alternaria and Penicillium mixed in association with Cyanobacteria and green algae, which are considered the first pioneering lithobionts [83] and are the main components of phototrophic biofilms, playing an important role in their formation [84,85]
Summary
Like all materials exposed to the external environment, are interconnected with surrounding abiotic and biotic factors They can be considered as real ecosystems where complex interactions develop between the biocenosis, the substrate, and the physical and edaphic factors of the geographical environment [1]. Biodeterioration, defined as “any undesirable change in a material brought about by the vital activities of organisms” [7], is a secondary phenomenon that frequently occurs on pre-deteriorated stone surfaces [8]. It depends on the susceptibility of the stone materials to being colonized, i.e., its bioreceptivity [9,10,11].
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