A Review of Fungal Decay in Historic Wooden Structures in Polar Regions

Flyen, Anne-Cathrine; Thuestad, Alma Elizabeth

doi:10.1080/13505033.2022.2156145

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Cultural environments and cultural heritage in polar regions are facing increasing pressure (e.g., [36,[89][90][91][92]). The effects of climate change combined with growing tourism contribute significantly to this situation (e.g., [93][94][95][96][97]).…”

Section: Physical Transformations Of the Cultural Heritage Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even slower processes such as rot and rust take hold more effectively when buildings and building components are no longer protected by roofs or sheltering walls. Although it was long assumed that rot barely existed in Svalbard, research in recent years has shown that the timber is also degraded by wood-decaying fungi [90,91,107].…”

Section: Physical Transformations Of the Cultural Heritage Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Cultural Landscape Emerges: Analyzing the Evolution of Two Historic North Pole Expedition Bases in Virgohamna, Svalbard, from Trash to a Protected Cultural Heritage Site

Flyen

2023

Land

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The identification and preservation of cultural landscapes worthy of protection is a challenging task, as their significance is often not immediately apparent. Analyzing the process through which a site or landscape became a heritage site and understanding the historical context and the factors that contributed to its designation allows making informed decisions on the management and preservation of the site. To provide research-based knowledge, this paper aims to analyze the transformation of the degraded remains of the North Pole expedition bases of Andrée and Wellman in Virgohamna, Svalbard, into a protected historic landscape and the subsequent emergence of the site as a current popular tourist destination. Virgohamna serves as an illustrative case for examining the heritagization process of cultural heritage sites in Svalbard. This article adopts a multidisciplinary approach, drawing upon case studies, mapping and categorizing the historic and current landscape, the condition and vulnerability assessment of historic remains, behavior studies on visiting tourists and guides on-site, expert interviews, and document studies. The findings highlight the complex processes that have influenced the making of the cultural heritage landscape in Virgohamna, the enduring narrative associated with the site, and the need for continued efforts to ensure the preservation and dissemination of its historical significance. Analyzing the process through which Virgohamna has become a heritage site and understanding the historical context and the factors that have contributed to its designation as a heritage site has the potential to enhance comprehension regarding historical importance and heritage values. Furthermore, it might facilitate engaging stakeholders and formulating management approaches and provide insights for policy suggestions. The comprehensive examination serves as a foundation for responsible and sustainable heritage management, ensuring the preservation and promotion of Virgohamna’s cultural heritage for present and future generations.

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Section: Physical Transformations Of the Cultural Heritage Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physical Transformations Of the Cultural Heritage Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

A Cultural Landscape Emerges: Analyzing the Evolution of Two Historic North Pole Expedition Bases in Virgohamna, Svalbard, from Trash to a Protected Cultural Heritage Site

Flyen

2023

Land

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“…The biodeterioration of wooden cultural heritage is a severe problem, and fungi have the most significant potential effect on this type of historical artwork [2,3]. Fungi have a detrimental effect on the aesthetic value of the archaeological wood due to colonization by their pigmented mycelium with the production and deposition of melanin pigment [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Friendly Preservation of Pharaonic Wooden Artifacts using Natural Green Products

Geweely,

Abu Taleb,

Grenni

et al. 2024

Applied Sciences

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The biodeterioration of wooden cultural heritage is a severe problem worldwide and fungi are the main deteriorating agents. The identification of effective natural products, safer for humans and the environment, is a current challenge. Ten deteriorated archaeological objects (a wooden statue of a seated man, an anthropoid wooden coffin with a cartonnage mummy of Nespathettawi, and a wooden box of Padimen’s son), stored at the Egyptian museum in Cairo, were considered here. The wood species of the three most deteriorated objects were previously identified as Acacia nilotica, Ficus sycomorus, and Tamarix gennessarensis. Twenty-six fungal species were isolated and identified from the wooden objects and the four most frequent species belonged to the genus Aspergillus. Fourteen fungal species among those isolated showed the greatest biodeterioration activity on the experimental wood blocks of the archaeological objects. The antifungal activities of several eco-friendly plant essential oils (from cinnamon, eucalyptus, frankincense, geranium, lavender, lemongrass, menthe, rosemary, tea tree, and thyme) and plant extracts (from basil, eucalyptus, henna, melia, and teak) were tested against the fungal species with the greatest biodeterioration activity. The essential oils (Eos) were more effective than the plant extracts. Thyme EO, followed by geranium and cinnamon ones, was the most active (minimum inhibitory concentrations: 0.25–1 µL/mL). These EO; also showed inhibitory effects on the enzymatic activities (cellulase, amylase, and protease) of the four most dominant fungal species. Thymol and p-cymene were the two main components of thyme oil, while geraniol and beta-citronellol were those of geranium oil; eugenol and caryophyllene were those of the cinnamon EO. Thyme oil applied to the most deteriorated experimental aged A. nilotica wooden cubes inoculated with the four highly frequent fungal species was effective in wood preservation. Moreover, no significant interference was observed in the wood before and after thyme treatment. Thyme oil seems to be a promising eco-friendly antifungal agent for the preservation of archaeological wooden artefacts.

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“…The number of visited sites has also risen in this period [11,12]. As the historic sites are amongst the most popular landing sites in the Archipelago, the combination of impacts from tourism and climate change degrade the historic remains at an ever-increasing pace [13][14][15]. With this increase, significant European cultural heritage is affected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research conducted in the field has explored the consequences of heritage-based tourism on socio-cultural, physical, and economic environments, i.e., [4,5,14,[23][24][25]. Furthermore, studies in the High Arctic and Antarctica have examined changes in heritage sites over time, considering both cultural and natural processes, i.e., [13,15,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. However, many historic sites in these regions remain unmanaged and are gradually deteriorating [8,34,36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Vulnerability Indicators: Tourist Impact on Cultural Heritage Sites in High Arctic Svalbard

Flyen,

Hegnes

2023

Heritage

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This article reports findings from two research projects that aimed to understand the vulnerabilities of cultural heritage sites in Svalbard and investigated factors that influence tourism-induced pressures and site degradation. It draws upon fieldwork conducted at ten selected historic locations, including interviews with tourists and guides, consultations with regional and central cultural heritage management authorities, on-site observations, and condition assessments. The primary goal was to explore indicators rendering cultural heritage sites susceptible to the impacts of tourism and human visitors. These indicators were common denominators and encompassed the sites’ physical state/degree of decay, legibility, accessibility, and quantity and quality of objects at the sites. This article seeks to enhance the understanding of these sites’ vulnerabilities and provide insights for effective heritage site management and sustainable tourism development. The principal findings highlight key factors contributing to cultural heritage sites’ vulnerability. These factors encompass intensity and frequency of visitor traffic, suboptimal visitor management strategies, tourists’ limited awareness of proper site behaviour and conservation practices, and restricted resources for site maintenance and protection. These findings can guide policymakers, site managers, and tourism stakeholders in formulating strategies to balance tourism promotion with site conservation, ensuring the long-term preservation of cultural heritage in this unique and vulnerable environment.

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A Review of Fungal Decay in Historic Wooden Structures in Polar Regions

Cited by 7 publications

References 68 publications

A Cultural Landscape Emerges: Analyzing the Evolution of Two Historic North Pole Expedition Bases in Virgohamna, Svalbard, from Trash to a Protected Cultural Heritage Site

A Cultural Landscape Emerges: Analyzing the Evolution of Two Historic North Pole Expedition Bases in Virgohamna, Svalbard, from Trash to a Protected Cultural Heritage Site

Eco-Friendly Preservation of Pharaonic Wooden Artifacts using Natural Green Products

Exploring Vulnerability Indicators: Tourist Impact on Cultural Heritage Sites in High Arctic Svalbard

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