Danuta Stępalska

Occurrence of airborne Cladosporium and Alternaria spores in Southern and Central Poland in 1995-1996

The concentration of airborne spores of Cladosporium and Alternaria has been investigated at five monitoring stations situated in cities from the foot of the Tatra Mountains to central Poland along a south-north transect (Zakopane, Kraków, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Warszawa, Poznań) i.e. from a height of 900 m to 80 m above sea level. The aerobiological monitoring of fungal spores was performed by means of five Burkard volumetric spore traps.Cladosporium spores were dominant at all the stations. The highest Cladosporium and Alternaria spore concentrations were observed at all the sites in July and August, except at Warszawa in both years and at Poznań in 1995 where the maximum of Cladosporium spores occurred in June and July, and at Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski in 1995 where the maximum was found in July, August and September.Fungal spore concentrations in Zakopane and Kraków were significantly lower than those in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Warszawa and Poznań and periods of abundant Cladosporium spore occurrence were different in these two groups of monitoring stations.

The relationship between airborne pollen and fungal spore concentrations and seasonal pollen allergy symptoms in Cracow in 1997–1999

The investigation of airborne pollen and fungalspore concentrations was carried out in Cracowbetween 1997–1999. For this study thevolumetric method has been employed (Burkard).At the same time the clinical diagnosis ofpollen allergy in 40 patients was obtained onthe basis of an interview, positive skin pricktests with pollen extracts and increasedspecific IgE level. An increase in seasonalallergy symptoms in all patients occurred fromthe middle of May to the middle of August.Eighty eight percent of the patients (35 out of40) were sensitive to Poaceae pollen and about50% of them were additionally sensitive totree and herb pollen excluding grasses. Forpatients with additional allergy to tree pollenthe seasonal symptoms started at the end ofMarch (Betula) while for patients withadditional allergy to herb pollen it wasextended to the middle of September (Artemisia).Five people out of 40 revealed positive skinreactions to Alternaria spores and anincrease in specific IgE level. Positive skinreaction to Cladosporium spores with noincrease in specific IgE level occurred in 2patients. The increase in seasonal allergysymptoms in people sensitive to Alternariaspores noted in July and August could becaused not only by these spores but also byPoaceae pollen.

Variation in Ambrosia pollen concentration in Southern and Central Poland in 1982–1999

The aim of the study was to investigate theAmbrosia pollen concentrations inselected Polish cities and for Kraków torelate it to some meteorological factors.Sampling was carried out in Kraków in1982–1997 and in Rabka in 1992–1996 with theuse of the gravimetric method. In Zakopane,Kraków, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski,Warszawa and Poznań in 1995–1996 both thegravimetric and volumetric methods (Burkardtrap) were employed. In Kraków themonitoring has been performed since 1994 usingthe volumetric method. The results show theragweed pollen presence in August and Septemberwith the tendency to appear more frequently inAugust in some years. In Kraków (1994–1999)Ambrosia pollen was found either in thelast two weeks of August or in the first twoweeks of September which seems to be a regularand repeatable pattern every two years.Seasonal fluctuations of Ambrosia pollenconcentration do not show a clear increasingtendency except at Warszawa and OstrowiecŚwiętokrzyski in 1996 and at Krakówin 1999. Percentage of Ambrosia pollen inannual sums of total pollen is very low anddoes not exceed 1% except at OstrowiecŚwiętokrzyski in 1996 (1.2%) and atKraków in 1999 (2%). For Kraków theanalysis of some meteorological factors (Tmax,Tmin, precipitation, wind direction) wasperformed. High temperature and lack of rain orlow precipitation correlate well with ragweedpollen concentrations. During the Ambrosia pollen seasons ESE, E, S, SE, WSW, SWwind directions prevailed which could suggest along-distance transport from Ukraine, the CzechRepublic, Slovakia and also from Hungary, one ofthe most ragweed-polluted countries.

Diurnal variation of chosen airborne pollen at five sites in Poland

The aerobiological investigations were carriedout at five sites located in different climaticand geobotanical regions in Poland. The diurnalperiodicity of Alnus, Betula, Secale,Poaceae, Urtica, and Artemisia wasstudied during two successive years. The taxawere chosen on the basis of pollen grainabundance and allergenity. The pollen wascollected with a Burkard spore trap. Twelvetransversal transverses of microscope slidescorresponding to two-hour periods wereanalysed. The diurnal variations ofPoaceae, Alnus and Betula were irregularand varied between sites and years; highconcentrations were observed at different hoursof the day and night. Diurnal concentrations of Secale, Urtica and Artemisia hadonly one maximum in the middle of the day,constant between sites and years. The lowestconcentrations were observed between eveningand early morning. There was no close relationbetween the time of the liberation ofAlnus, Betula and Poaceae pollen and thetime of the maximum pollen counts. There was aseveral hour delay observed between the timeof Secale pollen liberation and maximumconcentration of airborne pollen.

Scientific Conference in Lublin, Poland

Elzbieta Weryszko-Chmielewska1, Kazimierz Szczepanek2 & Danuta Stepalska2 1Department of Botany, Agricultural Academy, Akademicka 15, PL 20-950 Lublin, Poland; 2Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Lubicz 46, PL 31-512 Cracow, Poland (correspondence address: Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Lubicz 46, PL 31-512 Cracow, Poland. Phone: (48-12) 421-06-76, fax: (48-12) 423-09-49)