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A comparative study on the effects of altitude on daily and hourly airborne pollen counts

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Abstract

The concentration of pollen grains in the air was studied using two aerobiological volumetric Hirst-type spore traps, one at ground level and the other at a height of 16 m on a terrace. The study was carried out between 2009 and 2011, from March to June in Badajoz (SW Spain). Intradiurnal and daily pollen counts were compared with both, different meteorological parameters and the distribution of local pollen sources. Forty-six pollen types were identified and 89 % of the total grains corresponded to Quercus, Poaceae, Olea, Pinaceae and Plantago pollen types, in descending order. The mean height ratio of the daily pollen count was 1.02. Significant correlations were observed when comparing daily pollen counts for predominant pollen types at both levels. The comparisons have shown significant differences in the daily pollen count between the two samplers in the case of Olea and Pinaceae, but not for Quercus, Poaceae and Plantago. Similar results were obtained using the intradiurnal airborne pollen database. No significant correlation has been found between pollen count and the different meteorological parameters, showing no dependence on height. These differences of Olea and Pinaceae may be explained in part by the uneven distribution of the pollen sources and the disturbance by nearby buildings. The temporal variation patterns between the two sites were similar; however, taking into account the average of the data, the higher values were obtained first at the ground level and later at 16 m.

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Acknowledgments

This work was made possible by the research projects PRI06A190 and PRI BS10008, which were financed by the Regional Government, Junta de Extremadura (Spain) and the European Social Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Extremadura, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06071, Badajoz, Spain

    Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez, Rafael Tormo-Molina & José María Maya-Manzano

  2. Department of Applied Physics, Engineering Agricultural School, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain

    Inmaculada Silva-Palacios

  3. Department of Allergology, Hospital Universtario Infanta Cristina, Badajoz, Spain

    Ángela Gonzalo-Garijo

Authors
  1. Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez
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  2. Rafael Tormo-Molina
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  3. José María Maya-Manzano
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  4. Inmaculada Silva-Palacios
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  5. Ángela Gonzalo-Garijo
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Correspondence to Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez.

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Fernández-Rodríguez, S., Tormo-Molina, R., Maya-Manzano, J.M. et al. A comparative study on the effects of altitude on daily and hourly airborne pollen counts. Aerobiologia 30, 257–268 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9325-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9325-7

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