A comparative analysis of Poaceae pollen seasons in Lublin (Poland)

Krystyna Piotrowska, Agnieszka Kubik-Komar

Abstract


The aim of the present study was to compare the dynamics of grass pollen seasons and to assess whether the method of grouping pollen seasons and years with similar weather conditions would apply to the same groups. On the basis of Spearman's correlation test between pollen counts and weather parameters during the pollen season, the strongest positive correlation was found with temperature and air humidity. The pollen seasons greatly varied in terms of air humidity, rainfall, and cloud cover, whereas temperature variations were small. The seasons in 2004 (very cold) and in 2010 (very warm) are exceptions. As a result of cluster analysis, three groups of seasons were distinguished. The grouping of seasons by using various criteria produced different groups of pollen seasons. No strong direct relationship was found between the mean values of the seasonal meteorological factors analysed and groups of seasons. PCA analysis can be used for quick and easy interpretation of weather characteristics of a particular season and to compare it with other seasons.

Keywords


pollen monitoring; meteorological factors; PCA; cluster analysis

Full Text:

PDF

References


Clot B. 1998. Forecast of the Poaceae pollination in Zurich and Basle (Switzerland). Aerobiologia, 14: 267–268. http://

dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02694216

Davies R.R., Smith L.P. 1973. Forecasting the start and severity of the hay fever season. Clin. Allergy, 3: 263–267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2222.1973.tb01332.x

Dąbrowska-Zapart K. 2010. Types of hazel (Corylus spp.) and alder (Alnus spp.) pollen seasons in Sosnowiec 1997 – 2007 (Poland). Acta Agrobot. 63 (2): 75–83.

Emberlin J., Jones S., Bailey J., Caulton E., Corden J., Dubbels S. et al. 1994. Variation in the start of the http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00173139409427839 the grass pollen season at selected sites in the United Kingdom 1987–1992. Grana, 33: 94–99.

Emberlin J., Adams-Groom B. 2004. An analysis of the possible effects of the 2001 foot and mouth disease epidemic on grass pollen concentrations in the Midlans, UK. Aerobiologia, 20: 209–216.

Ferguson G.A., Takane Y. 1989. Statistical analysis in psychology and education (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Galan C., Emberlin J., Dominguez E., Bryant R.H., Villamandos F. 1995. A comparative analysis of daily variations in the Gramineae pollen counts at Cordoba, Spain and London, UK. Grana, 34: 189–198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00173139509429042

Garcia-Mozo H., Perez-Badia R., Galan C. 2008. Aerobiological and meteorological factors’ influence on olive (Olea europaea L.) crop yield in Castilla-La Mancha (Central Spain). Aerobiologia, 24: 13–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10453-007-9075-x

González Parrado Z., Valencia Barrera R.M., Fuertes Rodríguez C.R., Vega Maray A.M., Pérez Romero R., Fraile R., Férnandez González D. 2009. Alternative statistical methods for interpreting airborne alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner) pollen concentrations. Internat. J. Biomet. 53: 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00484-008-0184-1

Gozdowski D., Roszkowska-Mądra B., Mądry W. 2008. Spatial diversity of Podlasie rural communes for environmental conditions and agricultural land use. Colloquium Biometricum, 38: 125–134.

Kasprzyk I. Walanus A. 2010. Description of the main Poaceae pollen season using bi-Gaussian curves, and forecasting methods for the start and peak dates for this type of season in Rzeszów and Ostrowiec Św. (SE Poland). J. Environ. Monitor. 12: 906–916. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b912256g

Lighthart B., Shaffer B.T., Frisch A.S., Paterno D. 2009. Atmospheric culturable bacteria associated with meteorological conditions at a summer-time site in the mid-Willamette Valley, Oregon. Aerobiologia, 25: 285–295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10453-009-9133-7

Malkiewicz M., Klaczak K. 2011. Analysis of the grass (Poaceae L.) pollen seasons in Wrocław, 2003–2010. Acta Agrobot. 64 (4): 59–66.

Mandrioli P., Comtois P., Dominguez V.E., Galan C., Syzdek L., Isard S. 1998. Sampling: principles and techniques. In P. Mandrioli, P. Comtois, V. Levizzani (Eds), Methods in aerobiology (pp. 47–112). Bologna: Pitagora Editrice.

Myszkowska D. 2010. The grass pollen season dynamics in relation to the meteorological conditions in Cracow, southern Poland, 1991–2008. Acta Agrobot. 63 (2): 85–96.

Obtułowicz K., Szczepanek K., Szczeklik A. 1990. The value of pollen count for diagnosis and therapy of pollen allergy in Poland. Grana, 29: 318–320.

Piotrowska K. 2006. The effect of meteorological factors on the start of the grass pollen season in Lublin in the years 2001–2004. Acta Agrobot. 59 (1): 365–372.

Piotrowska K. 2012. Forecasting the Poaceae pollen season in eastern Poland. Grana, DOI:10.1080/00173134.2012.659204

Piotrowska K., Kubik-Komar A. 2012. The effect of meteorological factors on airborne Betula pollen concentrations in Lublin (Poland). Aerobiologia, 28:

–479. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10453-012-9249-z

Puc M. 2011. Threat of allergenic airborne grass pollen in Szczecin, NW Poland: the dynamics of pollen seasons, effect of meteorological variables and air pollution. Aerobiologia, 27: 191–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10453-010-9188-5

Rapiejko P., Weryszko-Chmielewska E. 1998. Pyłek traw. / Alergia Astma Immunologia, 3 (4): 187–192. (in Polish)

Rapiejko P., Lipiec A., Wojdas A., Jurkiewicz D. 2004. Threshold pollen concentration necessary to evoke allergic symptoms. Int. Rev. Allergol. Clin. 10 (3): 91–94.

Sabariego S., Perez-Badia R., Bouso V., Gutierrez M. 2011. Poaceae pollen in the atmosphere of Aranjuez, Madrid and Toledo (central Spain). Aerobiologia, 27: 229–238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10453-010-9191-x

Smith M., Emberlin J., Stach A., Rantio-Lehtimäki A., Caulton E., Thibaudon M., Sindt Ch., Jäger S., Gehrig R., Frenguelli G., Jato V., Rodriguez Rajo F.J., Alcazar P., Galan C. 2009. Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on grass pollen counts in Europe. Aerobiologia, 25: 321–332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10453-009-9136-4

Spieksma F.Th.M., Nikkels A.H. 1998. Airborne grass pollen in Leiden, The Netherlands: annual variations and trends in quantities and season starts over 26 years. Aerobiologia, 14: 347–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02694304

Stach A., Smith M., Prieto Baena J., Emberlin J. 2008. Long-term and short-term forecast models for Poaceae (grass) pollen in Poznań, Poland, constructed using regression analysis. Environ. Experimental Bot. 62 (3): 323–332.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5586/aa.2012.020

Journal ISSN:
  • 2300-357X (online)
  • 0065-0951 (print; ceased since 2016)
This is an Open Access journal, which distributes its content under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, provided that the content is properly cited.
The journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aims to follow the COPE’s principles.
The journal publisher is a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association.
The journal content is indexed in Similarity Check, the Crossref initiative to prevent scholarly and professional plagiarism.
Publisher
Polish Botanical Society