Algal 'greening' and the conservation of stone heritage structures

In humid, temperate climates, green algae can make a significant contribution to the deterioration of building stone, both through unsightly staining ('greening') and, possibly, physical and chemical transformations. However, very little is known about the factors that influence the deteriorative impact and spatial distribution of green algal biofilms, hindering attempts to model the influence of climate change on building conservation. To address this problem, we surveyed four sandstone heritage structures in Belfast, UK. Our research had two aims: 1) to investigate the relationships between greening and the deterioration of stone structures and 2) to assess the impacts of environmental factors on the distribution of green biofilms. We applied an array of analytical techniques to measure stone properties indicative of deterioration status (hardness, colour and permeability) and environmental conditions related to algal growth (surface and sub-surface moisture, temperature and surface texture). Our results indicated that stone hardness was highly variable but only weakly related to levels of greening. Stone that had been exposed for many years was, on average, darker and greener than new stone of the same type, but there was no correlation between greening and darkening. Stone permeability was higher on 'old', weathered stone but not consistently related to the incidence of greening. However, there was evidence to suggest that thick algal biofilms were capable of reducing the ingress of moisture. Greening was negatively correlated with point measurements of surface temperature, but not moisture or surface texture. Our findings suggested that greening had little impact on the physical integrity of stone; indeed the influence of algae on moisture regimes in stone may have a broadly bioprotective action. Furthermore, the relationship between moisture levels and greening is not straightforward and is likely to be heavily dependent upon temporal patterns in moisture regimes and other, unmeasured, factors such as nutrient supply.