Nine-year record of Alnus pollen deposition in the Roztocze region (SE Poland) with relation to vegetation data

Irena A Pidek

doi:10.5586/aa.2007.031

Abstract

Pollen deposition of alder has been measured at ground level by means of nine modifi ed Tauber traps in different plant communities according to rules of the Pollen Monitoring Programme (http://pmp.oulu.fi ). The series of data covers the period 1998-2006. The area under investigation is situated in the Roztocze (surroundings of the Guciów village) within the protective zone of the Roztocze National Park. During nine years of monitoring, significant variations were observed between single years of deposition. The occurrence of peak years (1998, 2001, 2003 and 2006) connected with higher production of Alnus pollen was observed at many pollen monitoring sites, but its relationship with different proportions of alder within the surrounding vegetation seems rather weak. The average value of annual pollen deposition of Alnus for the whole region was calculated at ca. 1370 grains &#8226; cm-2. At the sites situated within the open landscape, pollen influx values ranged from 442 (in 2005) to 6894 (in 1998). It seems that other factors than the proportion of alder within the vegetation control the deposition of Alnus pollen. Long-distance transport and meteorological factors such as wind speed and direction should be taken into account in future studies.

Highlights

In Poland three species of Alnus Mill. genus occur, from among which the most widespread is common alder Alnus glutinosa /L./ Gaertn. (Zając and Zając, 2001)
In our country Alnus pollen appears in the air very early, often in the first decade of February
Considerable differences in the values of Alnus pollen deposition in particular years are not surprising in the present investigations in the Roztocze region. They undoubtedly result from the diverse pollen production conditioned by many factors

Summary

Introduction

In Poland three species of Alnus Mill. genus occur, from among which the most widespread is common alder Alnus glutinosa /L./ Gaertn. (Zając and Zając , 2001). As an anemophilous tree belonging to the Betulaceae family, common alder produces a great amount of pollen triggering allergic reactions. For that reason, it arouses interest of aerobiologists and allergists. In our country Alnus pollen appears in the air very early, often in the first decade of February (Kasprzyk et al 2004; Szczepanek , 2006; Smith et al 2007; Weryszko - Chmielewska and Piotrow - s k a , 2004; 2006). Pollen seasons of early spring flowering taxa, such as Alnus and Corylus, are quite sensitive to the increase in global air temperature

Results

Discussion

Conclusion