Frequent microalgae in the fountains of the Alhambra and Generalife: Identification and Creation of a Culture Collection

Abstract

Cyanobacteria, green algae and diatoms are significant factors in the biodeterioration ofstone cultural heritage sites, and specifically fountain monuments, due to the constant presence ofwater. In this study, samples were taken from different fountains in the Alhambra and Generalife,which are among the Spanish monuments of greatest historical and artistic value and which togetherwere declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. The aim was to identify which speciesof colonising microalgae are most frequent and to obtain monoalgal cultures from them. From aconservation point of view, it is interesting to identify which algae are growing in these fountains andhow they behave in order to develop new methods to control their growth. The most abundant groupsof algae in our samples were green algae and cyanobacteria