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From China’s Great Wall to ancient Maya, how moss protects structures
- Researchers have found thin layers of biocrusts – including moss, lichen and microbiomes – are preventing erosion at the Great Wall of China
- The finding goes against the currently held view that vegetation is detrimental to heritage conservation, and could have other applications
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Biological soil crusts have protected the Great Wall of China from rain and wind erosion, a new Chinese-led study has found.
A similar discovery was recently made in ancient Mayan temples.
Biocrusts – thin layers of cyanobacteria, mosses, lichens and other microbiomes – covering large sections of the ancient construction have been “a shelter and regulator to help the heritage structure endure”.
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“Our study proves that the colonisation and development of biocrusts exert long-term and multifaceted protections against erosion on the Great Wall through enhancing mechanical stability and reducing the erodibility of rammed earth,” the team from China, Spain and the United States wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances on Saturday.
“We should conserve naturally occurring biocrusts on heritage structures rather than removing them,” they said, adding that further study on artificial inoculation and cultivation of biocrust as a nature-based intervention might be helpful to preserve heritage structures amid climate change.
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Two workers detained in China for vandalising a section of the Great Wall with an excavator
Two workers detained in China for vandalising a section of the Great Wall with an excavator
Vegetation was usually deemed as detrimental in monument conservation because it could destroy a structure via its root activity and biodegradation.
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