Abstract
The content of herbaceous pollen in the atmosphere depends on the vegetal cover, climate and the weather and geographical conditions. The aim of the study reported here was to compare aerobiological data obtained from pollen monitoring stations located at sites differing with respect to their flora and microclimate – i.e. a town and a rural area. A volumetric method was used for sampling. In each microscopic preparation 12 vertical strips corresponding with 2-h intervals were analysed. A 90% method was used to determine the pollen season. The results were statistically verified using the u test and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Spearman and Wilcoxon tests. Higher values of the Seasonal Pollen Index (SPI), higher daily average concentrations and higher peak values were recorded in the rural area. An analysis of intradiurnal variations of airborne pollen showed that apart from the Poaceae the number of pollen grains in the air began to increase earlier in the day in the rural area; in the case of Rumex and Ambrosia, the maximum values also appeared a few hours earlier. For all the taxa investigated, the analysis of correlation showed a significant association between the daily average concentrations at both sites. The weakest association occurred for Plantago lanceolata; for all other taxa, the determination coefficients (R 2) were high. The results of the Wilcoxon test showed that, despite the strong positive association between daily concentrations of the pollen types investigated, there were differences in mean pollen concentrations in the overlapping pollen season. Mean concentrations of Poaceae and Rumex airborne pollen were significantly higher in the rural area in both years, and those of Urtica and P. lanceolata were significantly higher only in 2002.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Arobba, D., Guido, M. A., Minale, P., Montanari, C., Placereani, S., Pracilio, S., Troise, C., Voltolini, S., & Negrini, A. C. (2000). Airborne pollen in Genoa (NW-Italy): A comparison between two pollen-sampling stations. Aerobiologia, 16, 233–243.
Belmonte, J., Canela, M., Guardia, R., Guardia, R. A., Sbai L., Vendrell, M., Alba, F., Alcazar, P., Cabeduzo, B., Gutierrez, M., Mendez, J., & Valencia, R. (1999). Aerobiological dynamics of the Urticaceae pollen in Spain, 1992–98. Polen, 10, 79–91.
Brem M., & Sobolewska M. (1939). Studia nad opadem pyłku w Puszczy Białowieskiej. Sylwan Ser A, 3–4
Dyakowska, J. (1959). Podręcznik palinologii. Warszawa: Wyd. Geolog.
Emberlin, J., & Norris-Hill, J. (1991). Spatial variation of pollen deposition in North London. Grana, 30, 190–195.
Emberlin, J., Jones, S., Bailey, J., Caulton, E., Corden, J., Dubbels, S., Evans, J., McDonagh, N., Millington, W., Mullins, J., Russel, R., & Spencer, T. (1994). Variation in the start of the grass pollen season at selected sites in the United Kingdom 1987–1992. Grana, 33, 94–99.
Faegri, K., & van der Pijl, L. (1979). The principles of pollination ecology. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Fernández-Gonzáles, D., Valencia, R. M., Vega, A., Diaz de la Guardia, C., Frigo, M. M., Cariñanos, P., Pertiñez, C., & Rodriguez, F. J. (1999). Analysis of grass pollen concentrations in the atmosphere of several Spanish sites. Polen, 10, 127–136.
Gaillard, M. J., Birks, H. J. B., Emanuelsson, U., Karlsson, S., Lageras, P., & Olausson, D. (1994). Application of modern pollen/land-use relationships to the interpretation of pollen diagrams-reconstructions of land-use history in south Sweden, 3000–0BP. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology, 82, 47–73.
GUS (2001). Ochrona Srodowiska. Warszawa
Gutierrez, A. M., Saenz, C., Cervigon, P., Alcazar, P., Dopaza, A., Ruiz, L., Trigo, M. M., Valencia, R., & Vendrell, M. (2000). Comparative study of the presence of aeropollen from Plantago sp. at several locations in Spain. Polen, 10, 115–125.
Hart, M. L., Wentworth, J. E., & Bailey, J. P. (1994). The effects of trap height and weather variables on reordered pollen concentration at Leicester. Grana, 33, 100–103.
Hicks, S. (1991). Aerobiology and paleoecology. Aerobiologia, 8, 220–230.
Hyde, W. (1959a). Weed pollen in Great Britain. Acta Allergologica, 13, 188–209.
Hyde, H. A. (1959b). Atmospheric pollen in relation to land use. Nature, 183, 1694–1695.
Kasprzyk, I. (1999). Comparative analysis of pollen fall at three sites in south-eastern Poland. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 6, 73–79.
Käpylä, M. (1981). Diurnal variation of non-arboreal pollen in the air in Finland. Grana, 20, 55–59.
Molina, R. T., Rodriguez, A. M., Palacios, I. S., & Lopez, F. G. (1996). Pollen production in anemophilous trees. Grana, 35, 38–46.
Mullins, J., White, J., & Davies, B. H. (1986). Circadian periodicity of grass pollen. Annals of Allergy, 57, 371–374.
Nilsson, S., & Persson, S. (1981). Tree pollen spectra in the Stockholm region (Sweden), 1973–1780. Grana, 20, 179–182.
Norris-Hill, J. (1999) The diurnal variation of Poaceae pollen concentrations in rural area. Grana, 38, 301–305.
Norris-Hill, J., & Emberlin, J. (1991). Diurnal variation of pollen concentration in the air of north-central London. Grana, 30, 229–234.
Sanchez-Mesa, J. A., Smith, M., Emberlin, J., Allitt, U., Caulton, E., & Galán, C. (2003). Characteristics of grass pollen seasons in areas of southern Spain and the United Kingdom. Aerobiologia, 19, 243–250.
Spieksma, F. Th. M., van Noort, P., & Nikkels, H. (2000). Influence of nearby stands of Artemisia on street-level versus roof-top-level ratio’s of airborne pollen quantities. Aerobiologia, 16, 21–24.
Spieksma, F. Th. M., Corden, J., Detandt, M., Millington, W. M., Nikkels, H., Nolard, N., Schoenmakers, C. H. H., Wachter, R., de Weger, L. A., Willems, R., & Emberlin, J. (2003). Quantitative trends in annual totals of five common airborne pollen types (Betula, Quercus, Poaceae, Urtica and Artemisia), at five pollen-monitoring stations in western Europe. Aerobiologia, 19, 171–184.
Subba Reddi, C., & Reddi, N. S. (1986) Relation of pollen release to pollen concentration in air. Grana, 24, 109–113.
Szczepanek, K. (2003). Wytwarzanie i rozprzestrzenianie spor i ziarn pyłku. In S. Dybova-Jachowicz, & A. Sadowska (Eds.), Palinologia. Kraków: Wyd. Inst. Botaniki PAN.
Święs, F. (1993). RoŚlinnoŚć synantropijna miasta Rzeszowa. Lublin: Wyd. Uniw. Marii Curie-Skłodowska.
Tamulewicz, J. (1997). Pogoda i klimat Ziemi. W: Kostrzewski A (Red.). Wielka Encyklopedia. Geografia Świata. T.5, Wyd. Kurpisz S. C., Poznań.
Trigo, M., Cabezudo, B., Recio, M., & Toro, F. J. (1996). Annual, daily and diurnal variations of Urticaceae airborne pollen in Malaga (Spain). Aerobiologia, 12, 85–90.
Trigo, M., Toro, F. J., Recio, M., & Cabeduzo B. (2000). A statistical approach to comparing the results from different aerobiological stations. Grana, 39, 252–258.
Unger, J. (1999). Comparison of urban and rural bioclimatological conditions in the case of a Central-European city. International Journal of Biometeorology, 43, 139–144.
Zar, J. H. (1999). Biostatistical analyses. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall.
Acknowledgements
The investigation was carried out within the framework of KBN project No 6 PO4668729.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kasprzyk, I. Comparative study of seasonal and intradiurnal variation of airborne herbaceous pollen in urban and rural areas. Aerobiologia 22, 185–195 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-006-9031-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-006-9031-1