Monitoring-informed microbial bioconsolidation of basaltic and lateritic heritage

Basaltic and lateritic heritage stone is deteriorating under tropical exposure and a changing climate, and the performance of conventional consolidants is strongly formulation-, substrate- and application-dependent. Microbially induced carbonate precipitation introduces a mineral rather than an organic polymer, but the heritage evidence base is drawn almost entirely from carbonate substrates; calcite is compositionally distinct from the silicate phases of basalt and the oxide-clay assemblages of laterite, so interfacial compatibility must be demonstrated rather than assumed. Structural health monitoring and data-linked digital representation are established in modern infrastructure and are being adapted to historic fabric. This critical review argues that the two fields should be developed together, and proposes a human-governed framework in which monitoring evidence supports probabilistic, risk-ranked assessment and treatment follows only after experimental validation and a conservator-led decision. Three levels of claim are used throughout: demonstrated, transferable in principle and proposed. Acoustic-emission localisation in weathered stone yields a probability region rather than a coordinate, and prediction of the location and timing of future cracking is not supported by current evidence for heritage application. The framework is appraised against compatibility, retreatability, minimum intervention and authenticity, and is presented as a hypothesis-driven research programme with staged validation criteria.