Show caves are vulnerable environments whose conditions should be monitored over time. Many factors, such as visits by tourists and the installation of lights, can easily alter the equilibrium of the cave system. Grotta Zinzulusa is a show cave located on the southeastern coast of Italy. This cave is renowned for the richness of its faunal biodiversity, but little is known about its microclimate and about its microbial diversity in the form of lampenflora growth near the light sources. We investigated the photosynthetic microorganisms living in the Zinzulusa in regard to its microclimatic conditions one year after the change of the lighting system from tungsten to LED (light emitting diode) lamps. Most microbial activity was found in areas with vermiculations. We established four distinct communities based on macroscopic characteristics as a function of light intensity and wavelength. The observations were compared both with previous data collected in the last decade and with other caves reported in the literature. Results show that not much has changed within the first year after switching to a LED system with respect to the 1999 state. This research contributes to the knowledge of the environmental attributes and provides a baseline to check for changes in the lampenflora community over time in the Zinzulusa.
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