Flowering and airborne pollen - a novel statistical approach

Abstract

The time pattern of flowering significantly affects the pollen season, its beginning, length and the concentration of pollen grains in air. The forecasting models used in aerobiological studies were chiefly based on the elements of weather conditions; however, recently the phenology of pollen shedding has been taken into consideration in these models more and more frequently. The aim of the presented investigations was to determine to what extent the flowering and the occurrence of allergenic pollen grains in air coincided in time. The investigation was carried out in Rzeszów (SE Poland) in the years 2003-2004. The flowering of 19 allergenic plant species was observed and seven phenophases were distinguished. Aerobiological monitoring was based on the volumetric method. In the case of most herbaceous plants, the flowering period overlapped the pollen season, high concentrations of pollen being recorded throughout several phenophases. In general, the pollen of trees occurred during very short periods, frequently during one phenophase, while the investigated phenomena were missing each other. The most intensive growth of inflorescences of alder, hazel and birch was observed at the beginning of full fl owering or towards the end of full flowering.