Recovery Capacity of Subaerial Biofilms Grown on Granite Buildings Subjected to Simulated Drought in a Climate Change Context
Variations in environmental conditions in the context of climate change are expected to affect biofilm-associated organisms on granite heritage buildings. The number and duration of drought periods should be considered, as these factors will affect the availability of water for the microorganisms. I...
Saved in:
Published in | Microbial ecology Vol. 82; no. 3; pp. 761 - 769 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Springer US
01.10.2021
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Variations in environmental conditions in the context of climate change are expected to affect biofilm-associated organisms on granite heritage buildings. The number and duration of drought periods should be considered, as these factors will affect the availability of water for the microorganisms. In this study, mature biofilms were exposed to various drying-rewetting cycles, and the effects of water stress on the SAB and their resilience were evaluated in terms of the variation in microbial composition, extracellular polymeric substance production, and photosynthetic efficiency. The structure of the biofilm changed after exposure to drought, becoming more heterogeneous and with an increase in the carbohydrate to protein ratio, especially after the second day of total drought.
Y
MAX
and
Y
EF
parameters proved to be the most informative, showing that the photosynthetic efficiency and recovery capacity were inversely related to the duration of the drought period. Furthermore, cyanobacteria resisted drought better than algae, giving rise to a decrease in the algae to cyanobacteria ratio. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0095-3628 1432-184X |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00248-021-01692-0 |