P.0077 How does aerobiology behave in a neotropical city?

Authors
Affiliation

Álex Espinosa-Correa

Grupo de Estudios Botánicos GEOBOTA, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.

Fernando A. Alzate-Guarin

Grupo de Estudios Botánicos GEOBOTA, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.

Abstract

Aerobiology in the tropics is still a science in development, where sampling and analysis are needed to understand the dynamics that occur there. Airborne pollen concentrations in the city of Medellín were measured using a Hirst-type sampler and correlated with meteorological parameters (relative humidity, rainfall, temperature, and wind speed) and air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NOx). Sampling was conducted over three years from (2019-2022), and pollen grains were detected on all days of sampling. The annual pollen integral (APIn) was 46,826, 51,536, and 43,608 pollen * day/m3 for each of the three sampling years. A total of 26 pollen types were identified, with Cecropia, Urticaceae, Fraxinus, Moraceae, Cupressaceae, Myrtaceae, Pinus, and Arecaceae being the most abundant. The highest pollen concentrations were observed from December to January and in July-August, corresponding to the months with the lowest rainfall. The Main Pollen Season (MPS) ranged from 247 to 301 days in duration. During all sampling days, aerovagant pollen was found present in the atmosphere of the city of Medellín. The highest hourly pollen concentrations occurred around noon, whilst something very different and rarely reported occurs with Cecropia, which is much more abundant at night, from 20:00 to 1:00 h. Relative humidity and rainfall showed negative correlations, while temperature and wind speed exhibited positive correlations, which has also been observed in different samples around the world. PM2.5 and NOx display significant negative correlations, whereas PM10 exhibits significant positive correlations. These results underscore the influence of atmospheric variables on airborne pollen in a tropical city. Furthermore, they suggest the potential use of pollen as an indicator of air quality in the urban environment.

Key words: Aeropalinology; Air Quality; Annual Pollen Integral; Main Pollen Season; Urban ecosystems

Poster

It seems that you don’t have a PDF plugin for this browser. No problem… you can click here to download the PDF file.

References

Aira-Rodríguez, M. J., Almaguer-Chávez, M., Fernández-González, M. D., & Rodríguez-Rajo, F. J. (2018). Pollen diversity in the atmosphere of Havana, Cuba. Aerobiologia, 34(3), 389–403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-018-9521-y
Alzate-Guarin, F. A., Quijano-Abril, M. A., Álvarez-Sánchez, A., & Fonnegra-Gómez, R. (2015). Atmospheric pollen and spore content in the urban area of the city of Medellin, Colombia. Hoehnea, 42(1), 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1590/2236-8906-52/2013
Galán, C., Alcázar, P., Oteros, J., García-Mozo, H., Aira-Rodríguez, M. J., Belmonte-Soler, J., Diaz de la Guardia, C., Fernández-González, M. D., Gutierrez-Bustillo, M., Moreno-Grau, S., Pérez-Badía, R., Rodríguez-Rajo, F. J., Ruiz-Valenzuela, L., Tormo-Molina, R., Trigo-Pérez, M. del M., & Domínguez-Vilches, E. (2016). Airborne pollen trends in the Iberian Peninsula. Science of The Total Environment, 550, 53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.069
Galán, C., Cariñanos, P., Alcázar, P., & Domínguez, E. (2007). Manual de calidad y gestión de la Red Española de Aerobiología. Universidad de Córdoba. http://www.redespanoladeaerobiologia.com/metodologia.html
Galán, C., Smith, M., Thibaudon, M., Frenguelli, G., Oteros, J., Gehrig, R., Berger, U. E., Clot, B., Brandao, R., & EAS QC Working Group. (2014). Pollen monitoring: minimum requirements and reproducibility of analysis. Aerobiologia, 30(4), 385–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9335-5
Hirst, J. M. (1952). An automatic volumetric spore trap. Annals of Applied Biology, 39(2), 257–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7348.1952.tb00904.x
Hurtado, I., & Alson-Haran, J. (1995). Airborne dispersal of Cecropia peltata L. (Moraceae) pollen, a neotropical species, in the vicinity of Caracas, Venezuela. Aerobiologia, 11(2), 101–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02738274

Citation

Espinosa-Correa, Á., & Alzate-Guarin, F. A. (2024). P.0077 How does aerobiology behave in a neotropical city? In XX International Botanical Congress IBC 2024, Spain. Book of Abstracts. Posters. (pp. 56–57). Fase 20 Ediciones. https://ibcmadrid2024.com/docs/secciones/24.pdf
Back to top