Lichen biodeterioration of the Convento de la Peregrina, Sahagún, Spain

Abstract

Lichen encrustations from Diploschistes scruposus involved in the biodeterioration of the 13th Century Convento de la Peregrina in Sahagún Spain, have been analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. The vibrational spectra are characteristic of calcium oxalate monohydrate, β-carotene, chlorophyll, and para-depside phenolic acids such as atranorin, lecanoric acid, and diploschistesic acid. The destructive colonization of the monumental stonework is highlighted and evidence presented for deleterious lichen invasion of the wall paintings inside the Convent. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biospectroscopy 5: 47–52, 1999