Airborne fungal spore concentration in an industrial township: distribution and relation with meteorological parameters

Abstract

Bioaerosols are reported to affect human health and cause chronic inflammation to the respiratory system, leading to its temporary or permanent damage. This study aims to perform the qualitative assessment of ambient air of Barrackpore, an industrial township of West Bengal, India, by analysing the airborne fungal spore diversity for two consecutive years. The spores of ambient air were trapped using Burkard 7-day volumetric sampler from June 2014 to May 2016. The association of major fungal taxa with environmental parameters was analysed by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis to identify the significant predictors. The daily average ambient fungal spore concentration was 3526.38 ± 2709.32 spores m−3. Ascospore, basidiospore, Periconia and Aspergillus/Penicillium spp. accounted for more than 65% of observed fungi, resulting in the major fungal taxa. A significant association of dominant fungi with meteorological parameters and air pollutants was observed. Additionally, stepwise multiple regression analysis pointed out that dewpoint, wind speed, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5(PM2.5) and atmospheric nitrogen dioxide concentration (NO2) are the significant predictors for dominant fungi. Analysis of daily ambient fungal spore concentration and determining their environmental determinants will give an insight into the ambient air quality of the residential area of Barrackpore, for the first time. The acquired data can be used to evaluate the health impact on the residents of an unevaluated industrial township of India.