Building materials and conservation

Geomycology and allied microbial sciences examine how fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms chemically and physically alter rocks, minerals, and the built environment — dissolving mineral lattices, precipitating secondary compounds, and accelerating or sometimes counteracting weathering through their metabolic activity. For cultural heritage, this matters because the same biogeochemical processes that shape natural stone landscapes are quietly degrading historic buildings, sculptures, and archaeological sites, with salt crystallization and fungal colonization among the most destructive mechanisms at work. Researchers are now mapping the microbial communities that colonize lime mortars and stone surfaces in detail, trying to distinguish which taxa drive deterioration from which might be harnessed for bioremediation — using organisms to consolidate damaged material or neutralize harmful salts. A central open question is how environmental change, including shifts in humidity and temperature, will alter microbial diversity and activity on heritage structures in ways that current conservation strategies have not yet accounted for.

Works

70,019

Total citations

441,523

Keywords

GeomycologyBiodeteriorationBioremediationCultural HeritageRock WeatheringMicrobial Diversity