Microclimate, airborne particles, and microbiological monitoring protocol for conservation of rock-art caves: The case of the world-heritage site La Garma cave (Spain)

16 páginas.- 6 figuras.- 3 tablas.- referencias.- Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119762.

Cave heritage is often threatened by tourism or even scientific activities, which can lead to irreversible deterioration. We present a preventive conservation monitoring protocol to protect caves with rock art, focusing on La Garma Cave (Spain), a World Heritage Site with valuable archaeological materials and Palaeolithic paintings. This study assessed the suitability of the cave for tourist use through continuous microclimate and airborne particles monitoring, biofilm analysis, aerobiological monitoring and experimental visits. Our findings indicate several factors that make it inadvisable to adapt the cave for tourist use. Human presence and transit within the cave cause cumulative effects on the temperature of environmentally very stable and fragile sectors and significant resuspension of particles from the cave sediments. These environmental perturbations represent severe impacts as they affect the natural aerodynamic control of airborne particles and determine bacterial dispersal throughout the cave. This monitoring protocol provides part of the evidence to design strategies for sustainable cave management.

This research was supported by the Consejeria de Universidades, Igualdad, Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de Cantabria and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through projects PID2019-110603RB-I00 and PID2020-114978 GB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The authors acknowledge to CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI), and CSIC Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform Open Heritage: Research and Society (PTI-PAIS) for the professional support.

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