Fungal Distribution of the Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks in the Haeinsa Temple

Abstract

Many investigations have been conducted on the biological damage and environmental conditions necessary to preserve the Janggyeong Panjeon and Daejanggyeongpan (woodblocks). We performed a survey on the concentration and diversity of airborne fungi in the Janggyeong Panjeon and compared them with the results of a survey from 2012. The temperature of the Beopbojeon building was slightly lower, while the relative humidity was higher than those found at the Sudarajang building. The concentration of airborne fungi in the Beopbojeon was 1.44-fold that of the Sudarajang. It was confirmed that the concentration and diversity of airborne fungi in the Janggyeong Panjeon differed depending on the sampling site. In total, 23 fungal genera were identified from the air samples, and 11 fungal and 1 bacterial genera were identified from the surface of the woodblocks. Among these, only five types of fungi were commonly distributed in the indoor air and surface of the Daejanggyeongpan; however, 58.3% of the fungi identified on the surface of the woodblocks were not observed in the in the air samples. The surface-dwelling fungi may accumulate dust to form microbial communities over time.

Once upon a Time, There Was a Piece of Wood: Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives in Fungal Deterioration of Wooden Cultural Heritage in Terrestrial Ecosystems and Diagnostic Tools

“…For the characterization of the surrounding environment, much has been done in monitoring physical measures (e.g., humidity and temperature), as well as in identifying potential agents of degradation in areas relevant to the asset to be preserved (e.g., [138]). Since air circulation could favor contamination, indoor and outdoor aerobiological studies have been performed [70,[272][273][274]. Nevertheless, more efforts are needed to integrate these data for identifying general and specific shared guidelines, allowing for the comparison of results and learning from shared experiences.…”