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Effects of meteorological factors on airborne bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn.) spores in Salamanca (middle-west Spain)

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Abstract

Temporal variation of airborne bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) spores concentration in Salamanca during 10 years from January 1998 to December 2007 were studied by using a Burkard spore trap, and correlations with some meteorological parameters were analyzed. The number of spores that were counted was very low, due probably to the distance between the spore trap and the main bracken populations which were located 70 km away from the city. Long-range transport caused by winds coming from the Second Quadrant (IIQ) is supposed to be responsible for the appearance of bracken spores in Salamanca. The season period from August to late October shows the most intense spore dispersal process, with an early morning distribution along the day. Years 2002 and 2007 with a low quantity of airborne spores were also characterized by low mean temperatures, always under 18°C from May to June. Daily spore concentration shows positive correlation with temperature and sun hours but negative with IVQ winds and with relative humidity. No correlation between daily spore concentration and rainfall was found. Also, a positive correlation between number of spores and IIQ winds was observed during the main spore season (MSS) and prepeak period (PRE).

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Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by Junta de Castilla y León, Project Code SA091A07 and Public Health Council of Junta de Castilla y León, agreement code H42. The authors are grateful to the Inmunoallergic Service of Salamanca who supplied different slide preparations. We also thank F.J. Rodríguez Rajo and anonymous reviewers for their useful comments which have improved the manuscript. The first author would like to thank the University of Salamanca for its research grant.

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  1. Department of Botany, Hispano-Luso Agrarian Research Center (C.I.A.L.E.), University of Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno s/n, 37007, Salamanca, Spain

    David Rodríguez de la Cruz, Estefanía Sánchez Reyes & José Sánchez Sánchez

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  1. David Rodríguez de la Cruz
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  2. Estefanía Sánchez Reyes
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  3. José Sánchez Sánchez
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Correspondence to David Rodríguez de la Cruz.

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Rodríguez de la Cruz, D., Sánchez Reyes, E. & Sánchez Sánchez, J. Effects of meteorological factors on airborne bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn.) spores in Salamanca (middle-west Spain). Int J Biometeorol 53, 231–237 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-009-0208-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-009-0208-5

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