An aerial view of the Atibainha dam, part of the Cantareira reservoir, during a drought in Nazare Paulista, Sao Paulo state November 18, 2014. Brazil's worst drought in 80 years has left the Cantareira system, that provides greater Sao Paulo with most of its water, with the lowest water level on record, with daily rationing becoming common in the region's smaller cities, according to the state authorities and the two main reservoirs serving metropolitan Sao Paulo, South America's largest city, could dry out by February if relief does not arrive in the upcoming rainy season. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

A boy stands at the door of a 60-year-old cable car in the town of Chiatura, some 220 km (136 miles) northwest of Tbilisi, September 12, 2013. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

Two men standing on a high catwalk, surveying the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, with Manhattan in the background, New York City, 1877. (Photo by Museum of the City of New York/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Paintings are moved on a stand at the “London Art Fair” on January 18, 2012 in London, England. The fair includes over 100 different stands featuring work by well known 20th century British artists and showcases some of the best emerging talent in the art world today. The show runs until January 23, at Business Design Centre in Islington. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A pheasant stands in snow near Dulverton on January 30, 2012 on Exmoor, England. After unseasonably mild winter weather, some parts of the UK woke to a covering of snow as a cold spell of weather sets in, with forecasters warning temperatures are set to plunge as the week progresses. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A French soldier stands near a military combat command vehicle on display at The Defence and Security Exhibition on September 13, 2011 in London, England. ExCeL London is hosting the exhibition with hundreds of manufacturers from all over the world displaying their hardware. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)