Influence of climatic factors on cyanobacteria and green algae development on building surface

Abstract

Buildings and monuments are often colonized by microorganisms that can result in colour change and aesthetical and physico-chemical damages. This bio-colonization is dependent of the material and on the environment. In order to better understand and correlate the microbial development at the surface of buildings with meteorological parameters, concentration of green algae and cyanobacteria have been measured using an in situ instrument on the wall of a private habitation in the Parisian region during two periods: spring and fall-winter. Different locations were also chosen to assess the influence of the position (horizontal or vertical) and of the situation (shaded vs. sunny microclimate). The results show that the microorganism development rapidly responds to rainfall events but the response is more intense in winter as temperature is lower and relative humidity (RH) higher. Cyanobacteria are less sensitive to this seasonal effect as they are more resistant to desiccation than green algae. Based on all the data, different dose-response functions have been established to correlate RH, rain and temperature to the green algae concentration. The influence of the microclimate is considered via specific fitting parameters. This approach has to be extended to new campaign measurements but could be very useful to anticipate the effect of climate change.