Unusually high birch (Betula spp.) pollen concentrations in Poland in 2016 related to long-range transport (LRT) and the regional pollen occurrence

In 2016, the highest birch (Betula spp.) pollen concentrations were recorded in Krakow (Poland) since the beginning of pollen observations in 1991. The aim of this study was to ascertain the reason for this phenomenon, taking the local sources of pollen in Poland and long-range transport (LRT) episodes associated with the pollen influx from other European countries into account. Three periods of higher pollen concentrations in Krakow in 2016 were investigated with the use of pollen data, phenological data, meteorological data and the HYSPLIT numerical model to calculate trajectories up to 4 days back (96 h) at the selected Polish sites. From 5 to 8 April, the birch pollen concentrations increased in Krakow up to 4000 Pollen/m(3), although no full flowering of birch trees in the city was observed. The synoptic situation with air masses advection from the South as well as backward trajectories and the general birch pollen occurrence in Europe confirm that pollen was transported mainly from Serbia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, into Poland. The second analyzed period (13-14 April) was related largely to the local flowering of birches, while the third one in May (6-7 May) mostly resulted from the birch pollen transport from Fennoscandia and the Baltic countries. Unusual high pollen concentrations at the beginning of the pollen season can augment the symptomatic burden of birch pollen allergy sufferers and should be considered during therapy. Such incidents also affect the estimation of pollen seasons timing and severity.</p

Analysis of trees planted in vicinity of hospitals in Ljubljana as a source of pollen

The paper analyses woody plants growing in the vicinity of hospital buildings situated along Zalog Road, Korytko Street, Šlajmar Street, Bohorič Street and Njegoš Street in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Woody plants are an immediate potential source of allergenic pollen, affecting all park users such as patients, visitors and hospital employees. The most allergenic tree species in the park was found to be birch (Betula pendula Roth.), which accounts for 6.8% of all registered trees. The low allergenic maples (Acer sp.) and the low allergenic horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) account for 19.6% and 7.4%, respectively. Among the medium allergenic trees are ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) (4.8%), plane (Platanus x hispanica Muenchh.) (4.2%), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) (1.9%), and oak (Quercus sp.) and hazel (Corylus avellana L.) withless than 1%

Analiza drevja kot vira cvetnega prahu ob kliničnih bolnišnicah v Ljubljani

V prispevku so predstavljene lesnate rastline, ki rastejo v bližini bolnišničnih zgradb na Zaloški cesti ter na Korytkovi, Šlajmerjevi, Bohoričeviin Njegoševi ulici v Ljubljani. Lesnate rastline v parku so bližnji vir alergogenega cvetnega prahu, ki so mu izpostavljeni vsi uporabniki parka, bolniki, obiskovalci in zaposleno osebje. V parku je najbolj alergogena vrsta breza, ki predstavlja 6,8 % vseh dreves, 19,6 % je nizko alergogenih javorjev in 7,4 % nizko alergogenega divjega kostanja. Srednje visoko alergogeni so še jesen (4,8 %), platana (4,2 %), gaber (1,9 %) ter hrast in leska z manj kot 1-odstotno udeležbo.The paper analyses woody plants growing in the vicinity of hospital buildings situated along Zalog Road, Korytko Street, Šlajmar Street, Bohorič Street and Njegoš Street in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Woody plants are an immediate potential source of allergenic pollen, affecting all park users such as patients, visitors and hospital employees. The most allergenic tree species in the park was found to be birch (Betula pendula Roth.), which accounts for 6.8% of all registered trees. The low allergenic maples (Acer sp.) and the low allergenic horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) account for 19.6% and 7.4%, respectively. Among the medium allergenic trees are ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) (4.8%), plane (Platanus x hispanica Muenchh.) (4.2%), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) (1.9%), and oak (Quercus sp.) and hazel (Corylus avellana L.) withless than 1%

Comparative Analysis of some Vernal Pollen Concentrations in Timisoara (Romania), Szeged (Hungary), Novi Sad (Serbia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia)

he aim of the study was to compare the airborne concentrations of pollen produced by vernal flowering trees taxa (Alnus, Betula, Carpinus, Corylus, Fraxinus, Platanus, Populus, Quercus, Taxaceae/Cupressaceae) in the cities of Timisoara (Romania), Szeged (Hungary), Novi Sad (Serbia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia) during the years 20062008. Annual variations in the concentration of pollen in the atmosphere were analysed by the volumetric method. In these cities, the period with the greatest diversity of pollen types is spring. These trees are found in mixed forests and are used in urban landscaping and home gardens. Inter-annual differences can be seen in the seasonal behaviour of the pollen in Novi Sad, 2008 being the year in which the highest levels of airborne pollen were reached. During the 3-year period, pollen of the representatives of the family Betulaceae accounted for a significant proportion of total pollen, predominated by Betula pollen and a considerably lower proportion of Alnus, Carpinus and Corylus airpollen. Taxaceae/Cupressaceae pollen appears in the atmospheric pollen spectra of all localities in high concentrations. These pollen grains are the main source of allergens in springtime. Results of the study reveal important differences between the cities

The distribution of Ambrosia spp. pollen grains through North East of Italy, Slovenia and Carinthia (Austria) in the year 2021

Introduction The data sharing of Ambrosia spp. pollen particles detection among the Environmental Agencies of North East Italy, Carinthia (Austria) and Slovenia has allowed the development of a geographical map showing where ragweed was mostly concentrated in 2021. Materials and Methods Ambrosia spp. pollen grains were identified during the routine microscope analysis of the samples collected in 2021 from n.24 stations belonging to the monitoring networks of the Environmental Agencies involved in the study. Specific training in the recognition of Ambrosia spp pollen was previously carried out to distinguish it from similar genera. Pollen concentration data collected from each station were reported as annual pollen index, i.e. the sum of daily pollen concentration over the year (fig.1). Kriging model was applied to spatialize the punctual annual data and visualize the areas of greatest presence of the pollen. Results and Discussion The annual pollen indexes of Ambrosia spp. from North East of Italy, Carinthia (Austria) and Slovenia, spatialized with the Kriging method are represented in figure 2. On this map, the sampling stations are also reported and since each station represents the main phytoclimatic areas of each territory, it was possible to validate the result obtained. It is evident a higher concentration of Ambrosia pollen in the eastern-south part of the study are

Unusually high birch (Betula spp.) pollen concentrations in Poland in 2016 related to long-range transport (LRT) and the regional pollen occurrence

In 2016, the highest birch (Betula spp.) pollen concentrations were recorded in Kraków (Poland) since the beginning of pollen observations in 1991. The aim of this study was to ascertain the reason for this phenomenon, taking the local sources of pollen in Poland and long-range transport (LRT) episodes associated with the pollen influx from other European countries into account. Three periods of higher pollen concentrations in Kraków in 2016 were investigated with the use of pollen data, phenological data, meteorological data and the HYSPLIT numerical model to calculate trajectories up to 4 days back (96 h) at the selected Polish sites. From 5 to 8 April, the birch pollen concentrations increased in Kraków up to 4000 Pollen/m3, although no full flowering of birch trees in the city was observed. The synoptic situation with air masses advection from the South as well as backward trajectories and the general birch pollen occurrence in Europe confirm that pollen was transported mainly from Serbia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, into Poland. The second analyzed period (13–14 April) was related largely to the local flowering of birches, while the third one in May (6–7 May) mostly resulted from the birch pollen transport from Fennoscandia and the Baltic countries. Unusual high pollen concentrations at the beginning of the pollen season can augment the symptomatic burden of birch pollen allergy sufferers and should be considered during therapy. Such incidents also affect the estimation of pollen seasons timing and severity

Spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe

We acknowledge support from EU COST Action FA1203 "Sustainable management of Ambrosia artemisiifolia in Europe (SMARTER)". This work was partly financed by the following COST Short Term Scientific Missions: COST-STSM-FA1203-020215-053027 to CT, COST-STSM-FA1203-20573, ECOST-STSM-FA1203-250415-058150. Skjøth is supported by European Commission through a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (Project ID CIG631745)Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552The European Commission Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action FA1203 "SMARTER" aims to make recommendations for the sustainable management of Ambrosia across Europe and for monitoring its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The goal of the present study is to provide a baseline for spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe that can be used for the management and evaluation of this noxious plant. The study covers the full range of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. distribution over Europe (39°N-60°N; 2°W-45°E). Airborne Ambrosia pollen data for the principal flowering period of Ambrosia (August-September) recorded during a 10-year period (2004-2013) were obtained from 242 monitoring sites. The mean sum of daily average airborne Ambrosia pollen and the number of days that Ambrosia pollen was recorded in the air were analysed. The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated regardless of the number of years included in the study period, while trends are based on those time series with 8 or more years of data. Trends were considered significant at p < 0.05. There were few significant trends in the magnitude and frequency of atmospheric Ambrosia pollen (only 8% for the mean sum of daily average Ambrosia pollen concentrations and 14% for the mean number of days Ambrosia pollen were recorded in the air). The direction of any trends varied locally and reflected changes in sources of the pollen, either in size or in distance from the monitoring station. Pollen monitoring is important for providing an early warning of the expansion of this invasive and noxious plant

Biogeographical drivers of ragweed pollen concentrations in Europe

The drivers of spatial variation in ragweed pollen concentrations, contributing to severe allergic rhinitis and asthma, are poorly quantified. We analysed the spatiotemporal variability in 16-year (1995–2010) annual total (66 stations) and annual total (2010) (162 stations) ragweed pollen counts and 8 independent variables (start, end and duration of the ragweed pollen season, maximum daily and calendar day of the maximum daily ragweed pollen counts, last frost day in spring, first frost day in fall and duration of the frost-free period) for Europe (16 years, 1995–2010) as a function of geographical coordinates. Then annual total pollen counts, annual daily peak pollen counts and date of this peak were regressed against frost-related variables, daily mean temperatures and daily precipitation amounts. To achieve this, we assembled the largest ragweed pollen data set to date for Europe. The dependence of the annual total ragweed pollen counts and the eight independent variables against geographical coordinates clearly distinguishes the three highly infected areas: the Pannonian Plain, Western Lombardy and the Rhône-Alpes region. All the eight variables are sensitive to longitude through its temperature dependence. They are also sensitive to altitude, due to the progressively colder climate with increasing altitude. Both annual total pollen counts and the maximum daily pollen counts depend on the start and the duration of the ragweed pollen season. However, no significant changes were detected in either the eight independent variables as a function of increasing latitude. This is probably due to a mixed climate induced by strong geomorphological inhomogeneities in Europe

A temporally and spatially explicit, data-driven estimation of airborne ragweed pollen concentrations across Europe

Ongoing and future climate change driven expansion of aeroallergen-producing plant species comprise a major human health problem across Europe and elsewhere. There is an urgent need to produce accurate, temporally dynamic maps at the continental level, especially in the context of climate uncertainty. This study aimed to restore missing daily ragweed pollen data sets for Europe, to produce phenological maps of ragweed pollen, resulting in the most complete and detailed high-resolution ragweed pollen concentration maps to date. To achieve this, we have developed two statistical procedures, a Gaussian method (GM) and deep learning (DL) for restoring missing daily ragweed pollen data sets, based on the plant's reproductive and growth (phenological, pollen production and frost-related) characteristics. DL model performances were consistently better for estimating seasonal pollen integrals than those of the GM approach. These are the first published modelled maps using altitude correction and flowering phenology to recover missing pollen information. We created a web page (http://euragweedpollen.gmf.u-szeged.hu/), including daily ragweed pollen concentration data sets of the stations examined and their restored daily data, allowing one to upload newly measured or recovered daily data. Generation of these maps provides a means to track pollen impacts in the context of climatic shifts, identify geographical regions with high pollen exposure, determine areas of future vulnerability, apply spatially-explicit mitigation measures and prioritize management interventions

Spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe

The European Commission Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action FA1203 “SMARTER” aims to make recommendations for the sustainable management of Ambrosia across Europe and for monitoring its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The goal of the present study is to provide a baseline for spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe that can be used for the management and evaluation of this noxious plant. The study covers the full range of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. distribution over Europe (39°N–60°N; 2°W–45°E). Airborne Ambrosia pollen data for the principal flowering period of Ambrosia (August–September) recorded during a 10-year period (2004–2013) were obtained from 242 monitoring sites. The mean sum of daily average airborne Ambrosia pollen and the number of days that Ambrosia pollen was recorded in the air were analysed. The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated regardless of the number of years included in the study period, while trends are based on those time series with 8 or more years of data. Trends were considered significant at p < 0.05. There were few significant trends in the magnitude and frequency of atmospheric Ambrosia pollen (only 8% for the mean sum of daily average Ambrosia pollen concentrations and 14% for the mean number of days Ambrosia pollen were recorded in the air). The direction of any trends varied locally and reflected changes in sources of the pollen, either in size or in distance from the monitoring station. Pollen monitoring is important for providing an early warning of the expansion of this invasive and noxious plant