Abstract
The aim of the work was to compare the alder pollen seasons in the years 1997–2017 in Sosnowiec. The measurements of pollen concentration were taken with the volumetric method using Burkard’s apparatus. The impact of atmospheric conditions on the daily alder pollen grain concentration, the annual totals, and the duration of pollen seasons were studied. The dependency between each meteorological condition and different features of the alder pollen season was determined by using Pearson’s correlation coefficients, variance analysis with multiple comparison tests, and the linear regression model using backward elimination. It was proven that the temperatures directly preceding the pollination, i.e. the January and February temperatures as well as those from the period from 210 to 180 days preceding the beginning of the season, have the greatest impact on the beginning of the alder pollen season. The value of the daily alder pollen concentration in Sosnowiec showed a positive statistically significant correlation with the air temperature and sunshine duration and a negative correlation with the thickness of the snow cover and air relative humidity. The daily concentration also depended on the type of the weather front, direction of air mass inflow, and the type of the inflowing air mass. The season temperatures and the thermal conditions which were present in the summer of the preceding year impacted the annual totals (SPI) of the alder pollen grains.
Highlights
In Poland, the genus Alnus is represented by three species
The threshold alder pollen concentration, wherein in persons suffering from hypersensitivity allergic symptoms are observed, amounts to 45 grains/ m3 of air in Poland, whereas at a concentration of 80 grains/m3 of air, pollinosis is present in all people allergic to alder pollen (Rapiejko et al 2007)
The least varied were the dates of the end of the pollen season and the dates of the maximum pollen grain concentration during the day, which confirms the low coefficient of variation (Table 2)
Summary
In Poland, the genus Alnus is represented by three species. In the city of Sosnowiec and adjacent areas, two alder species were found: Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incana (Zajac and Zajac 2001). In northern and central Europe, the Alnus pollen is one of the main causes of pollen allergy (Rapiejko et al 2004; d’Amato et al 2007; Jantunen et al 2012). Alder pollen concentrations are high, and they often exceed the threshold values causing allergy symptoms and they come into cross-reactions with hazel, birch, hornbeam, oak, and beech pollen (Matthiesen et al 1991; Neudecker et al 2001; WeryszkoChmielewska and Rapiejko 2007; Kaszewski et al 2008). The threshold alder pollen concentration, wherein in persons suffering from hypersensitivity allergic symptoms are observed, amounts to 45 grains/ m3 of air in Poland, whereas at a concentration of 80 grains/m3 of air, pollinosis is present in all people allergic to alder pollen (Rapiejko et al 2007)
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