Proceedings e report - Firenze University Press

WOOD DECAY FUNGI IN LATVIAN BUILDINGS INCLUDING CULTURAL
MONUMENTS
Ilze Irbe*, Ingeborga Andersone
Laboratory of Wood Biodegradation and Protection, Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry, Latvia
Abstract
During a period of 12 years (1996 – 2007), a total of 300 private and public buildings as well as more than 20
cultural monuments had been inspected in Latvia regarding the damage by wood decay basidiomycetes. The
culture heritage sites included castles, manors, churches and old buildings. The total number of fungal
occurrences in wooden constructions comprised 338. Brown-rot damage occurred more frequently (78.1%) than
white-rot (21.9%). A total of 60 species of wood decay fungi were identified on the constructive and decorative
materials. Serpula lacrymans (46.7%), Antrodia spp. (12.7%), Coniophora spp. (5.9%) and Gloeophyllum spp.
(2.9%) were the most frequently recorded fungi. Majority of decay fungi were found on wood indoors (83%),
while wood outdoors was damaged only in 17% cases. Cultural heritage sites were decayed in 91 (27%) cases.
1. Introduction
Latvian cultural monuments, which include archaeological monuments, monuments of urban
development, architectural monuments, monuments of art and historical monuments, are a part of the
world’s cultural historical heritage. The inclusion of the historical centre of Riga in the UNESCO
world cultural heritage list in 1997 testifies the significance of the Latvian cultural heritage. In Latvia,
there are 8517 state protected cultural monuments including 76 medieval castles or ruins, 142 manors,
136 Lutheran churches, 68 Catholic churches, 36 Orthodox churches and 29 homes of prominent
persons [17]. Wood is probably the oldest construction and decorative material used in buildings, and
is a common material widely used in Latvian buildings. In Latvia, forests still occupy about 50% from
the total area. To preserve these resources, rational utilisation of wood, including the extension of its
service life by preventing against biodegradation, is of crucial importance.
In appropriate environmental conditions, wood outdoors and indoors can be degraded by brown-rot,
white-rot, or soft-rot fungi. The most important wood-degrading fungi within buildings in Europe and
North America are fungi that cause brown-rot in conifers. White-rot fungi, which preferentially attack
hardwoods, are less common in buildings [16]. Only three fungal species are often mentioned as most
frequent house-rot fungi in Europe: Serpula lacrymans, Coniophora spp., and Antrodia spp. [14].
The aim of our study was to examine Latvian buildings including cultural monuments in terms of
biodeterioration caused by wood decay fungi.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Inspected buildings
During a period of 12 years (1996 – 2007), a total of 300 private and public buildings as well as more
than 20 historical and old buildings had been inspected in respect to the damage by wood decay
basidiomycetes in Latvia. The cultural heritage sites are listed below:
Castles: Araishi lake fortress (castle) (reconstruction of an ancient Latgallian residential site of the 9 th
century), Lielvarde wooden castle (reconstruction of the castle dating from the 12 th century), Turaida
castle (13 th century).
Manors: Dikli manor (15 th century), Malpils manor (18 th century), Svente manor (20 th century),
Vainizhi manor (18 th century), Zeluste manor (18 th century).
Churches: Bikeri Lutheran church (18 th century), Dundaga Lutheran church (18 th century), Feimani
Roman Catholic Church (18 th century), Gulbene Lutheran church (19 th century), Jesus Lutheran church
in Riga (17 th century), Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Liepaja (18 th century), Malpils Lutheran church
* E-mail: ilzeirbe@edi.lv
Joseph Gril (edited by), Wood Science for Conservation of Cultural Heritage –Braga 2008: Proceedings of the International
Conference held by COST Action IE0601 (Braga - Portugal, 5-7 November 2008, ISBN 978-88-6453-157-1 (print)
ISBN 978-88-6453-165-6 (online) © 2010 Firenze University Press