An aeromycological study of various wooden cultural heritages in Korea

Korea has many wooden cultural heritages (WCHs), which should be preserved, along with various other cultural properties. WCHs, however, have undergone biodeterioration because of various fungal attacks in the past centuries; this type of biodeterioration is one of the significant problems faced during preservation of WCHs. To prevent this damage, it is important to investigate the fungal diversity of the WCHs. This aim of this study was to analyze the diversity of airborne fungi at 3 WCHs in Korea: Yeonghwadang (YHD; open building) and Juhamnu (JHN; closed building) in Changdeokgung Palace Complex located in Seoul and Unbong hyanggyo (UH; closed building) in Namwon. The airborne fungi were isolated twice in spring (March) and summer (August) using the gravity settling culture plate method and were identified using morphological and molecular techniques. There were differences in fungal diversity depending on the geographical location, climatic conditions, and the open or closed status of a building. During spring, in the open and closed buildings, a total of 671 fungal isolates (20 genera and 25 species) were collected in YHD and 125 isolates (19 genera and 25 species) were isolated in JHN. In summer, 175 isolates (11 genera and 12 species) and 66 isolates (12 genera and 13 species) were collected from YHD and JHN, respectively. The number of fungal isolates was greater in the open building than in the closed WCHs, but these buildings had similar fungal diversity. In UH, 180 isolates (13 genera and 15 species) were recovered in spring season and 58 isolates (14 genera and 17 species) in summer. There was no significant difference in the number of fungal isolates, but the fungal diversity was different depending on the environmental factors. Finally, fungal diversity was richer in spring than in summer because dusty and windy weather in spring was conducive to the release and transmission of fungal spores. In summer, there were a substantial number of basidiomycetes probably because their spores germinate better at higher temperatures and humidity.