Fungi Shaping the Built Environment: From Cultural Heritage Biodeterioration to Sustainable Materials and Human Health
A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Ecological Interactions of Fungi".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 32
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biodeterioration of cultural heritage; applied mycology; black fungi; environmental microbiology; biodegradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fungi represent a large group of living organisms whose diversity remains largely unknown. Fundamental to all biogeochemical cycles, fungi play a key role in the transformation of both natural and human-built environments.
Their metabolic versatility allows them to colonise both natural and synthetic materials, occupying every ecological niche, including man-made sites. In this context, it is not surprising that fungi are considered a major threat to artefacts that are of historical, artistic, or contemporary value, both indoors and outdoors, highlighting the continuity of fungal impact across past and present constructions.
Recent sustainability demands in construction have caused fungi to be of interest in circular economy approaches, driving the development of mycelium-based materials and highlighting the need to ensure the durability of new bio-based materials, particularly by defining their appropriate applications under climate-driven stresses. At the same time, the proliferation of fungi in indoor domestic, occupational, or recreational environments poses health risks, contributing to respiratory diseases, allergies, and other adverse effects, which underscores the importance of effective monitoring and mitigation strategies.
This Special Issue aims to bridge traditionally separate research domains—cultural heritage conservation, sustainable material development, and indoor environmental health—by highlighting the multifaceted roles of fungi in the built environment and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue among microbiologists, conservation scientists, architects, material engineers, and public health researchers.
Dr. Daniela Isola
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- indoor mycobiome
- building materials
- climate-driven biodeterioration
- fungal–material interaction
- museum collections
- showcaves
- wooden artifacts
- wall paintings
- lichens
- plastic materials
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