Airborne pollen trends in the Iberian Peninsula

C Galán; P Alcázar; J Oteros; H García-Mozo; M J Aira; J Belmonte; C Diaz de la Guardia; D Fernández-González; M Gutierrez-Bustillo; S Moreno-Grau; R Pérez-Badía; J Rodríguez-Rajo; L Ruiz-Valenzuela; R Tormo; M M Trigo; E Domínguez-Vilches

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.069

Airborne pollen trends in the Iberian Peninsula

Sci Total Environ. 2016 Apr 15:550:53-59. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.069. Epub 2016 Jan 22.

Authors

C Galán¹, P Alcázar², J Oteros³, H García-Mozo⁴, M J Aira⁵, J Belmonte⁶, C Diaz de la Guardia⁷, D Fernández-González⁸, M Gutierrez-Bustillo⁹, S Moreno-Grau¹⁰, R Pérez-Badía¹¹, J Rodríguez-Rajo¹², L Ruiz-Valenzuela¹³, R Tormo¹⁴, M M Trigo¹⁵, E Domínguez-Vilches¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), Spain. Electronic address: bv1gasoc@uco.es.
² Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), Spain. Electronic address: bv2altep@uco.es.
³ Center of Allergy & Environment (ZAUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Technische Universität München, Germany. Electronic address: oterosjose@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), Spain. Electronic address: bv2gamoh@uco.es.
⁵ Department of Botany, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Electronic address: mariajesus.aira@usc.es.
⁶ Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jordina.belmonte@uab.cat.
⁷ Department of Botany, University of Granada, Spain. Electronic address: cdiaz@ugr.es.
⁸ Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management (Botany), University of León, Spain; Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: delia.fernandez@unileon.es.
⁹ Department of Plant Biology II, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: montseg@farm.ucm.es.
¹⁰ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic University of Cartagena, Spain. Electronic address: stella.moreno@upct.es.
¹¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla la Mancha, Spain. Electronic address: Rosa.Perez@uclm.es.
¹² Department of Plant Biology and Soil Sciences, University of Vigo, Spain. Electronic address: javirajo@uvigo.es.
¹³ Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Jaén, Spain. Electronic address: lvalenzu@ujaen.es.
¹⁴ Department of Botany, University of Extremadura, Spain. Electronic address: ratormo@unex.es.
¹⁵ Department of Plant Biology, University of Malaga, Spain. Electronic address: aerox@uma.es.
¹⁶ Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), Spain. Electronic address: edominguez@uco.es.

PMID: 26803684
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.069

Abstract

Airborne pollen monitoring is an effective tool for studying the reproductive phenology of anemophilous plants, an important bioindicator of plant behavior. Recent decades have revealed a trend towards rising airborne pollen concentrations in Europe, attributing these trends to an increase in anthropogenic CO2 emissions and temperature. However, the lack of water availability in southern Europe may prompt a trend towards lower flowering intensity, especially in herbaceous plants. Here we show variations in flowering intensity by analyzing the Annual Pollen Index (API) of 12 anemophilous taxa across 12 locations in the Iberian Peninsula, over the last two decades, and detecting the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Results revealed differences in the distribution and flowering intensity of anemophilous species. A negative correlation was observed between airborne pollen concentrations and winter averages of the NAO index. This study confirms that changes in rainfall in the Mediterranean region, attributed to climate change, have an important impact on the phenology of plants.

Keywords: Aerobiology; Biological indicators; Climate change; Climate impacts; NAO index; Phenology; Weather.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Air Pollution / statistics & numerical data*
Allergens / analysis
Climate Change
Environmental Monitoring*
Europe
Pollen*
Portugal
Seasons
Spain

Substances

Air Pollutants
Allergens