Beopjusa temple is located at 405 Beopjusa-ro, Sokrisanmyeon, Boeun-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do in Korea. The building cultural heritages of the precinct are arranged along the NNE orientation from the Geumgangmun gate as they face the SSW direction. The meteorological elements were measured in the garden of Chongjiseonwon(latitude 36° 32′36.40″; longitude 127° 50′03.25″; altitude 352 m), and the concentration of airborne fungi was sampled from the area in front of Myeongbu-jeon(Figure 1A, 1C, 1D). Seonamsa temple is located at 450 Seonamsa-gil, Seungju-eup, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do in Korea. The building cultural heritages of the precinct are arranged along the NNW orientation from the Iljumun gate as they face the SSE direction. The meteorological elements were measured in the area 70M north of Sanshin-gak(latitude 34°59′51.90″; longitude 127°19′47.68″; altitude 265 m), and the concentration of airborne fungi was sampled from the area in front of Josa-jeon(Figure 1B, 1E, 1F).

The topographical conditions around Beopjusa temple are as follows: altitude, 352 m; relative height(the difference in elevation of the temple site from surrounding areas), 250 m; aspect(topographic direction) and opening direction, facing SSW; small relief amount with flat slope; and distance from coastline 120 km. The topographical conditions around Seonamsa temple are as follows: altitude, 265 m; relative height, 235 m; aspect and opening direction, facing SSE; large relief amount with steep slope; and distance from coastline, 20 km.

Twelve meteorological elements(air temperature, relative humidity, dew point temperature, wind speed, wind direction, sea level pressure, precipitation, total horizontal radiation, evaporation, number of days with precipitation, mean UV Index, and maximum UV Index) were measured by installing an automatic weather station(Vantage Pro2 Plus, Davis Instrument, USA) and collecting the hourly observed values. This was done between June 2015 and April 2018 (Table 1). For wind direction, the Windrose program (WRPLOT View, Lakes Environmental, USA) was used.

The airborne fungi in the outdoor air were sampled seasonally: spring(March–May), summer(June–August), fall (September–November), and winter(December–February); however, due to freezing of the culture media during winter when the air temperature dropped below zero, only the initial sampling was included in the analysis for winter. In the case of Beopjusa temple, the sampling was conducted twice in 2015(July 27, November 2), thrice in 2016(January 19, August 3, November 1), four times in 2017(March 21, April 25, July 25, October 31), and twice in 2018(March 27, April 27). In the case of Seonamsa temple, the sampling was conducted twice in 2015(July 28, November 3), four times in 2016(February 24, April 28, August 2, November 2), four times in 2017(March 22, April 26, July 26, November 2), and twice in 2018(March 28, April 23). The time of sampling was between 1 and 2 pm, and the method involved an air sampler(M Air T, Millipore, USA) equipped with plates containing PDA(Potato Dextrose Agar, Difco, USA), where 250 L(140 L/min) of air was collected thrice repeatedly. The plates with the collected air were cultured at 28℃ for two to three days, after which the colonies were counted for calculating the CFU(Colony Forming Unit/m³) according to Equation (1).

For analyzing the correlation between the meteorological elements and the concentration of airborne fungi, Pearson correlation analysis(IBM PASW Statistics 18) was applied to the airborne fungi sampled 11 times at Beopjusa temple and 12 times at Seonamsa temple between June 2015 and April 2018, and the observed values of the twelve meteorological elements on the days of sampling(Table 2).

From the values observed seasonally through the monitoring period between June 2015 and April 2018, the annual mean and seasonal mean values were obtained for comparison between the meteorological characteristics of Beopjusa temple and Seonamsa temple(Table 3). The annual mean air temperature at Beopjusa temple was 11.1℃ and Seonamsa temple was 12.8℃, indicating a 1.7℃ higher air temperature at Seonamsa temple. The annual mean humidity at Beopjusa temple was 76.2% and Seonamsa temple was 76.6%, indicating a 0.4% higher humidity at Seonamsa temple. The annual mean dew point temperature at Beopjusa temple was 6.4℃ and Seonamsa temple was 8.2℃, indicating a 1.8℃ higher temperature at Seonamsa temple. The annual mean wind speed at Beopjusa temple was 0.5 m/s and Seonamsa temple was 0.4 m/s, indicating a 0.1 m/s faster wind at Beopjusa temple. The average sea level pressure at Beopjusa temple was 1015.3 hPa and Seonamsa temple was 1015.9 hPa, showing a 0.6 hPa higher pressure at Seonamsa temple. The precipitation at Beopjusa temple was 1011.8 mm and Seonamsa temple was 1232.2 mm, indicating that Seonamsa temple received 220.4 mm more rainfall. The total horizontal radiation at Beopjusa temple was 4385.7 MJ/m² and Seonamsa temple was 4355.2 MJ/m², indicating that Beopjusa temple received 30.5 MJ/m² more radiation. The total evaporation at Beopjusa temple was 774.8 mm and Seonamsa temple was 765.9 mm, indicating 8.9 mm more evaporation at Beopjusa temple. For number of days with precipitation, Beopjusa temple had 129.7 days of rainfall on average while Seonamsa temple had 126.0 days, indicating 3.7 days more rainfall at Beopjusa temple. The main wind direction at Beopjusa temple was 112.5°(ESE wind) and Seonamsa temple was 135°(SE wind). To sum up, Beopjusa temple exhibited higher wind speed, total horizontal radiation, evaporation, and number of days with precipitation; while Seonamsa temple exhibited higher air temperature, humidity, dew point temperature, sea level pressure, and precipitation. Seasonally, the mean humidity was higher at Beopjusa temple during winter but higher at Seonamsa temple during spring, summer, and fall. The mean wind speed was higher at Seonamsa temple during winter. The precipitation was greater at Beopjusa temple mostly during summer, whereas at Seonamsa temple large precipitation was dispersed throughout spring and fall with the largest precipitation occurring during summer. The total horizontal radiation was higher at Beopjusa temple during spring and summer, but higher at Seonamsa temple during fall and winter. For number of days with precipitation, Beopjusa temple had more days with rain mostly during summer while Seonamsa temple had more days with rain during spring, summer, and fall. The wind direction changed from east-southeast in winter and spring to west in summer and fall at Beopjusa temple; while at Seonamsa temple, only the southeast wind blew throughout the year. Table 4 summarizes the concentration of the airborne fungi and the meteorological elements measured on the day they were sampled and, and Table 5 presents the annual and seasonal values. When the annual mean values for the daily meteorological elements were compared with those for the entire monitoring period(given in Table 3), both Beopjusa and Seonamsa temples showed values reflecting the annual trend with respect to air temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, sea level pressure, precipitation, and wind direction; while with respect to humidity, total horizontal radiation, evaporation, and number of days with precipitation, the influence of the daily meteorological phenomena was stronger so that the values did not reflect the annual trend. The concentration of airborne fungi was found to be higher at Seonamsa temple: 279.1 CFU/m³ at Beopjusa temple and 338.6 CFU/m³ at Seonamsa temple. At Beopjusa temple, the concentration was the highest in summer, followed by fall. At Seonamsa temple, the highest concentration was observed in spring, followed by summer. Both Beopjusa and Seonamsa temples showed increased concentration of airborne fungi during summer with high air temperature, humidity, dew point temperature, precipitation, and number of days with precipitation, but slow wind speed. Notably, the concentration of airborne fungi was the highest during the season with the largest precipitation, and it was seen to be affected by the daily meteorological phenomena.

From analyzing the correlation between meteorological elements and the concentration of airborne fungi, no linear correlation between the two was found for Beopjusa temple; while for Seonamsa temple, concentration of airborne fungi displayed a high correlation with number of days with precipitation, 0.752(p<0.01); relative humidity, 0.666(p<0.05); precipitation, 0.657(p<0.05); and total horizontal radiation, -0.614(p<0.05). Both Beopjusa and Seonamsa temples showed strong linear correlations between relative humidity and air temperature; dew point temperature and air temperature and relative humidity; wind speed and air temperature and dew point temperature; sea level pressure and air temperature, relative humidity, and dew point temperature; evaporation and total horizontal radiation; mean UV Index and total horizontal radiation and evaporation; and max UV Index and total horizontal radiation, evaporation, and mean UV Index (Common properties are marked as □). Independently, Beopjusa temple showed strong linear correlations between evaporation and air temperature, dew point temperature, and sea level pressure; number of days with precipitation and air temperature, relative humidity, dew point temperature, sea level pressure, and precipitation; mean UV Index and air temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, and sea level pressure; max UV Index and air temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, and sea level pressure; and wind direction and precipitation and number of days with precipitation. Seonamsa temple showed strong linear correlations between wind speed and relative humidity; sea level pressure and wind speed; total horizontal radiation and precipitation; evaporation and precipitation; mean UV Index and precipitation; maximum UV Index and precipitation; wind direction and relative humidity, wind speed, and sea level pressure; and concentration of airborne fungi and relative humidity, precipitation, total horizontal radiation, and number of days with precipitation(Individual properties are marked as ■)(Tables 6, 7).