Biocrusts protect the Great Wall of China from erosion

Abstract

The Great Wall of China, one of the most emblematic and historical structures built by humankind throughout all of history, is suffering from rain and wind erosion and is largely colonized by biocrusts. However, how biocrusts influence the conservation and longevity of this structure is virtually unknown. Here, we conducted an extensive biocrust survey across the Great Wall and found that biocrusts cover 67% of the studied sections. Biocrusts enhance the mechanical stability and reduce the erodibility of the Great Wall. Compared with bare rammed earth, the biocrust-covered sections exhibited reduced porosity, water-holding capacity, erodibility, and salinity by 2 to 48%, while increasing compressive strength, penetration resistance, shear strength, and aggregate stability by 37 to 321%. We further found that the protective function of biocrusts mainly depended on biocrust features, climatic conditions, and structure types. Our work highlights the fundamental importance of biocrusts as a nature-based intervention to the conservation of the Great Wall, protecting this monumental heritage from erosion.

Future Perspectives on the Application of the Oxford Nanopore® MinION™ Sequencer in Cultural Heritage Biodeterioration Studies

“…In addition, they can also provide important clues about interactions of the relics with human interactions [59]. As such, they can provide important information in fields such as biocodicology, archeology, criminology but also in human contamination from handling [20,21,[60][61][62]. While an emerging topic, attempts to apply the Oxford Nanopore ® sequencer for the identification of the microbiome and animal ancient DNA (aDNA) from a 15th-century parchment from the Graphic Collection (Kupferstichkabinett) of the Academy of Fine Arts, in Vienna [60], have also been conducted.…”

“…While an emerging topic, attempts to apply the Oxford Nanopore ® sequencer for the identification of the microbiome and animal ancient DNA (aDNA) from a 15th-century parchment from the Graphic Collection (Kupferstichkabinett) of the Academy of Fine Arts, in Vienna [60], have also been conducted. On the other hand, their application can also enhance our understanding of the monument context and to help shedding light on the biodeteriorative/bioprotective dualistic effect/nature of the microbiome [62]. Understandably, this sub-area can also open doors for multiple applications of the Oxford Nanopore ® sequencer worthy of further research.…”

Compositional Changes and Ecotoxicological Aspects of Hydrogen Peroxide Application to a Natural Plankton Community

“…(Cylindrospermopsis) was more resistant than Planktothrix and Microcystis were to the addition of 4 mg/L H 2 O 2 to cyanobacterial bloom samples maintained in mesocosms for 4-7days (Lusty and Gobler, 2020). The genus Mastigocladopsis is commonly related to terrestrial habitats and is associated with biological soil crusts, playing a role in surface stabilization against erosion in aquatic and nutrient-poor ecosystems(Wang et al, 2020;Cao et al, 2023). To our knowledge, this genus has not been associated with resistance to oxidative stress in natural freshwater communities.…”