Abstract
The urbanization of the Las Vegas Valley has transformed this part of the Mohave Desert into a green oasis by introducing many non-native plant species, some of which are allergenic. Typically, one monitoring station is established per city to obtain pollen counts for an entire metropolitan area. However, variations in pollen concentrations could occur among different microenvironments. The objective of this study is to measure and compare pollen concentrations in five locations in Las Vegas to determine if there are significant differences between microenvironments within the city. Air samples were collected from five sites across the Las Vegas Valley over a 1-year period. Prepared slides were analyzed with a light microscope for pollen grains and converted into airborne pollen concentrations. Mixed model methods were used to determine mean differences. Tree pollen was the greatest contributor to the annual average airborne pollen concentrations (130 grains/m3) compared to weeds (6 grains/m3) and grass (3 grains/m3). The highest peak occurred in March 2016 (9589 total grains/m3). There were several differences among sites with respect to concentrations of individual tree species and for total weed and grass concentrations. We observed significant variations in concentration and composition among the five pollen collection stations that were established across the Las Vegas Valley. This study presented new outdoor pollen data for the southwest region of the USA, focused in Las Vegas. The results indicate that more sites and comprehensive monitoring of outdoor allergens are needed to provide accurate information to the community about outdoor air quality conditions.
Highlights
In the Mojave Desert, there are numerous species of vegetation, but few are native; these include several species of the tree family Cupressaceae (Cedar/Juniper), and the genera Pinus (Pine) and Prosopis (Mesquite)
Tree pollen was by far the greatest contributor to the annual average airborne pollen concentrations
Overall, when total tree pollen data were combined, there were no significant differences among the five locations for annual average tree pollen concentrations (p > 0.05)
Summary
In the Mojave Desert, there are numerous species of vegetation, but few are native; these include several species of the tree family Cupressaceae (Cedar/Juniper), and the genera Pinus (Pine) and Prosopis (Mesquite). Most species of weeds native to the Mojave Desert belong to the genera Artemisia (Sagebrush), Ambrosia (Ragweed), and the family Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae (Goosefoot/Pigweed) (Holmgren et al 2010). The population of Las Vegas is approximately 2.1 million (Acevedo et al 2016). This growth in the population triggered a large increase in housing development and landscaping. Development turned the desert into a green oasis by introducing many non-native plant species, some of which are allergenic, such as Acer (Maple), Fraxinus (Ash), Morus (Mulberry), Olea (Olive), Pinaceae (Pine), Platanus (Sycamore), and Ulmus (Elm) (Holmgren et al 2010)
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