Plant pollen content in the air of Lublin (central-eastern Poland) and risk of pollen allergy

Pollen monitoring was carried out in Lublin in 2001–2012 by the volumetric method using a Hirst-type spore trap (Lanzoni VPPS 2000). Daily pollen concentrations considerably differed in the particular years. The pollen counts with the biggest variability were observed in the first half of a year when woody plants flowering. The highest annual pollen index were noted for the following taxa: [i]Betula, Urtica,[/i] Pinaceae, Poaceae and [i]Alnus[/i]. [i]Betula[/i] annual total showed the greatest diversity in the study years. The number of days on which the pollen concentration exceeded the threshold values, thereby inducing allergies, was determined for the taxa producing the most allergenic pollen. The above-mentioned taxa primarily included the following: Poaceae, in the case of which the highest number of days with the risk of occurrence of pollen allergy was found (35), [i]Betula[/i] (18), and [i]Artemisia[/i] (10). The following taxa:[i] Alnus[/i] (14 days), [i]Populus[/i] (11 days), [i]Fraxinus[/i] (10 days), and [i]Quercus[/i] (8 days), were also characterized by a large number of days on which their pollen concentrations exceeded the threshold values. The occurrence of periods of high concentration of particular pollen types were also noted. Risk of pollen allergy appeared the earliest at the beginning of February during [i]Alnus [/i]and [i]Corylus[/i] blooming. High concentrations of other woody plants were recorded from the last ten days of March to about 20 May, and of herbaceous plants from the first/last half of May – beginning of October

Assessment of Salix spp. pollen availability to insects based on aerobiological investigations

Pollen and nectar produced by flowers of species from the genus Salix are an important source of food for various insect groups in early spring. Most willows are entomophilous species; however, substantial amounts of airborne Salix pollen can be noted. The aim of the study was to evaluate the content of pollen of this taxon in the air of Lublin (central-east Poland) in 2001–2016 and to identify the period of its greatest availability to insects. In 2015, we compared the course of the Salix pollen season in Lublin (51°14'37" N; 22°32'25" E) and in the Roztoczański National Park (50°34'57" N; 23°04'24" E), Poland. We found that the date of the pollen season onset fluctuated greatly between March 16 and April 17. The greatest availability of Salix pollen to insects was noted from the end of the first 10-day-period of April to the first 10-day-period of May. The mean annual sum of airborne Salix pollen grains was 833. In Lublin, Salix pollen accounted for ca. 1.25% of the total airborne pollen content of different plant taxa. The investigations have demonstrated a 2-year cycle of Salix pollen abundance. The comparison of the pollen seasons in Lublin and in the Roztoczański National Park indicates that considerably greater amounts of pollen occur in the urban area than in the air of the Roztoczański National Park

Mugwort pollen season in southern Poland and Lviv (Ukraine) in 2015

The aim of the study was to compare the pollen season of the mugwort in Zielona Gora, Opole, Wroclaw, Sosnowiec, Cracow, Lublin, Guciow (Roztocze National Park) and Lviv. Measurements of pollen concentrations were performed with the volumetric method (Burkard or Lanzoni pollen sampler) in Poland and using the Durham trap in Lviv. Maximum pollen concentrations were observed in all measurement sites in the period between 2nd and 15th August. The highest concentration, the highest annual sum of pollen grains, and the highest risk of pollen allergy due of the presence of high concentrations of mugwort pollen grains in the air were recorded in Zielona Gora, Lublin, and Opole

Betula pollen season in southern Poland in 2016

The paper presents a comparison of birch pollen seasons in 2016 in study sites located in the southern part of Poland: Zielona Gora, Opole, Wroclaw, Sosnowiec, Cracow, Lublin, and Guciow in the Roztocze National Park. The pollen concentrations were measured with the volumetric method using Burkard or Lanzoni pollen samplers. The annual pollen sum was calculated for each measurement site. In 2016, the birch pollen season started at a similar time, i.e. between 4th and 6th April in all the localities. The highest annual sums and maximum pollen concentrations were recorded in Lublin and Guciow. The maximum concentrations of birch pollen were noted from 5th and 15th April, with the highest value in Lublin, i.e. 8573 P/m3 (14.04)

Corylus pollen season in southern Poland in 2016

The aim of the study was to compare the hazel pollen season in 2016 in Zielona Gora, Opole, Wroclaw, Sosnowiec, Cracow, Lublin, and Guciow (Roztocze National Park). Due to the mild winter, the hazel pollen season in Zielona Gora and Opole began very early, i.e. in the third decade of December 2015. In the other cities, the onset of the pollen season was noted between 30th January and 7th February. In a majority of the cities, the maximum daily pollen concentrations were recorded in the period between 7th and 10th February. The highest seasonal peak was reported from Lublin and the lowest – in Guciow and Wroclaw. The highest risk of allergy related to the persistence of high concentrations of airborne hazel pollen was noted for Zielona Gora, Lublin, and Cracow

Ragweed pollen season in southern Poland in 2016

The paper presents a comparison of ragweed pollen seasons in Zielona Gora, Opole, Wroclaw, Sosnowiec, Cracow, and Lublin. The investigations were carried out with the volumetric method. The ragweed pollen season began on different days of August. The maximum daily pollen count in all the cities was noted at the end of August. The greatest risk of allergies caused by the presence of airborne ragweed pollen was reported from Zielona Gora, Opole, and Sosnowiec

Annual pollen sums of alnus in Lublin and Roztocze in the years 2001-2007 against selected meteorological parameters

Alder (Alnus Mill.), as an anemophilous species, produces large quantities of easily dispersed pollen. Annual pollen sums recorded in south-eastern Poland (by the volumetric method - Lanzoni trap) and in the area of the village of Guciów in the Central Roztocze region (pollen deposition in Tauber traps) were compared. The height at which the respective trap sites were located as well as local and regional vegetation and the distance from the nearest alder communities differ in both cases, likewise, the climate of these two regions differ. The analysed pollen data series cover the years 1998-2007 in Roztocze and 2001-2007 in Lublin. Large differences have been noted in Alnus pollen deposition values between particular years. Among them, there were observed years of very high annual sums (2001, 2003, 2006), as well as years of very low pollen deposition values in both regions (2002, 2005, 2007). In the period in question, the mean value of annual Alnus pollen count for Lublin was 5372 alder pollen grains in m3 of air, and in Roztocze 1647 grains per cm2 of area. During the seven-year period of monitoring (2001-2007), very similar trends were noted with respect to airborne alder pollen concentrations at both trap sites. Pollen data have been analysed against meteorological factors affecting alder pollen production and deposition. These are total precipitation and mean monthly air temperature in June, July and August in the year preceding pollen emission and the same weather elements in January and February in the year of pollen emission. In Roztocze a statistically significant negative correlation has been found between Alnus pollen annual sums and total precipitation in August in the year preceding alder pollen emission and in February in the year of pollen emission. In both regions, the Spearman's correlation coefficient does not show any statistically significant values when comparing annual Alnus pollen sums with mean monthly temperatures of both January and February and summer months in the year preceding alder pollen emission

A study on the spatial and temporal variability in airborne Betula pollen concentration in five cities in Poland using multivariate analyses

During the spring period, Betula pollen is the main cause of inhalant allergies in Poland and therefore it is impor- tant to monitor and forecast airborne pollen concentrations of this taxon. This study conducted a comparative analysis of the basic characteristics of Betula pollen seasons at the regional scale. The study was carried out from 2001 to 2016 in fi ve cities in Poland: Lublin, Warsaw, Cracow, Sosnowiec, and Szczecin. To fi nd the attri- butes of birch pollen seasons that mostly differentiated the individual cities, a general discriminant analysis (GDA) was performed, while a principal component analysis (PCA) allowed us to reduce the data space and pres- ent a scatterplot of PCA scores in order to compare pollen seasons in the individual cities. The contingency table was also analyzed to check whether there was a signi fi cant relationship between pollen counts in the studied years and cities. At most of the sites, biennial cycles of low and high pollen concentrations can be observed. Due to the high variation in seasons in each of these cities, two data groups were distinguished: Group 1 was composed of seasons with high pollen deposition (2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016), and Group 2 comprising the other seasons. Multivariate analyses were performed on both these groups as well as in the entire dataset. End98, Peak Value, and Annual Total had the highest discriminant power. In Group 1, Warsaw and Sosnowiec differed the most in the investigated parameters, while Cracow and Szczecin differed the least. In both groups, most seasons with the highest pollen birch concentration were observed in Lublin, followed by Warsaw, while in Cracow, the number of such seasons was the smallest

Poplar pollen in the air of selected Polish cities in 2014

W pracy przedstawiono przebieg sezonu pylenia topoli w wybranych miastach Polski w 2014 r. Pomiary wykonano w Zielonej Górze, we Wrocławiu, w Sosnowcu, Krakowie, Lublinie, Warszawie, Olsztynie i Szczecinie. Badania prowadzono metodą wolumetryczną przy zastosowaniu aparatów typu Burkard i Lanzoni. Sezon pyłkowy wyznaczono metodą 95% rocznej sumy ziaren pyłku. Najwcześniej pyłek topoli zarejestrowano w Zielonej Górze (26 lutego), najpóźniej zaś w Lublinie (13 marca). Najwyższe wartości stężeń średniodobowych pyłku zanotowano w Lublinie (909 ziaren/m3), najniższe – w Krakowie (93 ziarna/m3).This paper presents the course of poplar pollination season in selected cites of Poland in 2014. The measurements were performed in Zielona Gora, Wroclaw, Sosnowiec, Cracow, Lublin, Warsaw, Olsztyn and Szczecin. The research was carried out by means of the volumetric method with the use of Burkard and Lanzoni Spore Trap. The duration of the pollen seasons was defined as the period in which 95% of the annual total catch occurred. The pollen seasons of poplar started first in Zielona Gora (26th of February), the latest in Lublin (31st of March). The highest concentration values were recorded in Lublin (909 grains/m3) and the lowest in Cracow (93 grains/m3)