Abstract
<p>The control of plant pollen season patterns is especially important in the expectation of climate change, as the timing of potential varying pollen seasons affects the human population. An ever-increasing number of people suffer from hay fever symptoms with varying severity during the pollen season. This paper presents data on the seasonal variations of pollen concentration and the factors which are the likely causes of these variations in Vinnytsya, a city in Central Ukraine, in order to establish the apparent pattern of this variation and so improve the efficiency of hay fever control in Ukraine.</p><p>Pollen counts were obtained by gravimetric and volumetric methods employing a Hirst-type volumetric spore trap.</p><p>Alder (<em>Alnus</em>) and birch (<em>Betula</em>) peaks of pollen release occurred approximately 1 month earlier than was observed at the end of the twentieth century. This was due to the seasonal heat accumulation related to the appropriate temperature regimen registered in January and February prior to the growing season. Other trees – including poplar (<em>Populus</em>), maple (<em>Acer</em>), walnut (<em>Juglans</em>), common hazel (<em>Corylus</em>) – did not show distinct changes in pollen season pattern over the past decades.</p><p>Mean daily temperature seems to be the leading factor promoting early season onset and a seasonal pollen peak shift of the grass and herb flora such as ragweed (<em>Ambrosia</em>). The shift of the ragweed seasonal pollen maximum towards later in the season correlated with higher temperatures during September. Our study has shown that droughts may also significantly decrease the ragweed pollen concentration.</p>
Highlights
The main plant groups of airborne allergenic pollen producers in Ukraine include both woody and herbaceous species
It was established that Alnus pollen season patterns are determined by the temperatures in January and February and heat accumulation before the onset of the season
A general tendency of the Alnus pollen season to shift to an earlier period has been observed in Vinnytsya in recent years
Summary
The main plant groups of airborne allergenic pollen producers in Ukraine include both woody and herbaceous species. Grass (Poaceae) pollen is considered to be one of the most important airborne allergens in Europe [2,3], including Ukraine [1], where 334 species of 98 genera of this family are recognized [4,5]. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is the weed pollen type causing one of the greatest impacts on human health in Europe and North America [7]. It is known that long-distance transport of ragweed pollen can cause patient symptoms [10,11] and this distant transport from the Ukrainian territory to various European countries has recently been reported [12,13]. In addition to manage the pollen inventories (which is not always possible to perform), it is important to control the timing and intensity of the pollen season of local flora in order to reduce the effects on sensitive individuals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
