Krystyna Piotrowska-Weryszko

The airborne pollen calendar for Lublin, central-eastern Poland

An aerobiological study was conducted to investigate the quantity and quality of pollen in the atmosphere of Lublin in central-eastern Poland. Pollen monitoring was carried out in the period 2001-2012 using a Hirst-type volumetric spore trap. The atmospheric pollen season in Lublin lasted, on average, from the end of January to the beginning of October. The mean air temperature during the study period was found to be higher by 1.1 °C than the mean temperature in the period 1951-2000. 56 types of pollen of plants belonging to 41 families were identified. 28 types represented woody plants and 28 represented herbaceous plants. The study distinguished 5 plant taxa the pollen of which was present most abundantly in the air of Lublin, which altogether accounted for 73.4%: Betula, Urtica, Pinus, Poaceae, and Alnus. The mean annual pollen index was 68 706; the largest amount of pollen was recorded in April and accounted for 33.3% of the annual pollen index. The pollen calendar included 28 allergenic plant taxa. The pollen of woody plants had the highest percentage in the pollen spectrum, on average 58.4%. The parameters of the pollen calendar for Lublin were compared with the calendar for central-eastern Europe with regard to the start of the pollen season of particular taxa. The pollen calendar for Lublin was demonstrated to show greater similarity to the calendar for Münster (Germany) than to the calendar for Bratislava (Slovakia).

The effect of the meteorological factors on the Alnus pollen season in Lublin (Poland)

Abstract Alder pollen seasons and the effect of meteorological conditions on daily average pollen counts in the air of Lublin (Poland) were analysed. Alnus pollen grains reach very high concentrations in the atmosphere of this city during the early spring period and the parameters of pollen seasons were very different in the particular years studied. The pollen season lasted on average one month. The highest variation was observed for the peak value and the Seasonal Pollen Index (SPI). The pollen seasons, which started later, had shorter duration. Peak daily average pollen counts and SPI value were higher during the shorter seasons. Similarities in the stages of pollen seasons designated by the percentage method depended on the start date of the pollen season. Season parameters were mainly correlated with thermal conditions at the beginning of the year. Regression analysis was used to predict certain characteristics of the alder pollen season. The highest level of explanation of the variation in Alnus pollen season start and peak dates was obtained in the model using mean temperature in February. The obtained regression models may predict 82% of the variation in the pollen season start date, 73% of the variation in the duration, and 62% in the peak date.

Forecasting model of Corylus, Alnus, and Betula pollen concentration levels using spatiotemporal correlation properties of pollen count

The aim of the study was to create and evaluate models for predicting high levels of daily pollen concentration of Corylus, Alnus, and Betula using a spatiotemporal correlation of pollen count. For each taxon, a high pollen count level was established according to the first allergy symptoms during exposure. The dataset was divided into a training set and a test set, using a stratified random split. For each taxon and city, the model was built using a random forest method. Corylus models performed poorly. However, the study revealed the possibility of predicting with substantial accuracy the occurrence of days with high pollen concentrations of Alnus and Betula using past pollen count data from monitoring sites. These results can be used for building (1) simpler models, which require data only from aerobiological monitoring sites, and (2) combined meteorological and aerobiological models for predicting high levels of pollen concentration.

Plant pollen content in the air of Lublin (central-eastern Poland) and risk of pollen allergy

Pollen monitoring was carried out in Lublin in 2001-2012 by the volumetric method using a Hirst-type spore trap (Lanzoni VPPS 2000). Daily pollen concentrations considerably differed in the particular years. The pollen counts with the biggest variability were observed in the first half of a year when woody plants flowering. The highest annual pollen index were noted for the following taxa: Betula, Urtica, Pinaceae, Poaceae and Alnus. Betula annual total showed the greatest diversity in the study years. The number of days on which the pollen concentration exceeded the threshold values, thereby inducing allergies, was determined for the taxa producing the most allergenic pollen. The above-mentioned taxa primarily included the following: Poaceae, in the case of which the highest number of days with the risk of occurrence of pollen allergy was found (35), Betula (18), and Artemisia (10). The following taxa: Alnus (14 days), Populus (11 days), Fraxinus (10 days), and Quercus (8 days), were also characterized by a large number of days on which their pollen concentrations exceeded the threshold values. The occurrence of periods of high concentration of particular pollen types were also noted. Risk of pollen allergy appeared the earliest at the beginning of February during Alnus and Corylus blooming. High concentrations of other woody plants were recorded from the last ten days of March to about 20 May, and of herbaceous plants from the first/last half of May-beginning of October.

Selection of morphological features of pollen grains for chosen tree taxa

ABSTRACT The basis of aerobiological studies is to monitor airborne pollen concentrations and pollen season timing. This task is performed by appropriately trained staff and is difficult and time consuming. The goal of this research is to select morphological characteristics of grains that are the most discriminative for distinguishing between birch, hazel and alder taxa and are easy to determine automatically from microscope images. This selection is based on the split attributes of the J4.8 classification trees built for different subsets of features. Determining the discriminative features by this method, we provide specific rules for distinguishing between individual taxa, at the same time obtaining a high percentage of correct classification. The most discriminative among the 13 morphological characteristics studied are the following: number of pores, maximum axis, minimum axis, axes difference, maximum oncus width, and number of lateral pores. The classification result of the tree based on this subset is better than the one built on the whole feature set and it is almost 94%. Therefore, selection of attributes before tree building is recommended. The classification results for the features easiest to obtain from the image, i.e. maximum axis, minimum axis, axes difference, and number of lateral pores, are only 2.09 pp lower than those obtained for the complete set, but 3.23 pp lower than the results obtained for the selected most discriminating attributes only. Summary: We present a novel method for selection of the sufficient pollen grains descriptors set, derived from optical microscopic images, for automatic pollen taxa recognition purposes.

Analysis of Fraxinus pollen seasons and forecast models based on meteorological factors

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE The timings of Fraxinus and Betula flowering and pollen release overlap, which may cause increased allergic reactions in sensitive people. The aim of the present study was to characterize Fraxinus pollen seasons in Lublin (central-eastern Poland) and to identify meteorological factors that most determine the occurrence of airborne pollen of this taxon, as well as obtain forecast models for the basic characteristics of the pollen season. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted in Lublin during the period 2001-2016, employing the volumetric method. The seasons were compared by PCA (Principal Component Analysis). To determine relationships between meteorological conditions and the pattern of pollen seasons, regression analysis was used. Data for the period 2001-2015 were used to create forecast models by applying regression analysis, while the 2016 data served to verify these models. RESULTS Season end date and seasonal peak date were characterized by the lowest variation. The biggest differences were found for peak value and total annual pollen sum. The average dates of occurrence of ash pollen grains in the air of Lublin were between 13 April 13 - 3 May 3, whereas, on average, the pollen peak date occurred on 23 April. The factor loading values for the PC1 variable indicate that it is most strongly correlated with peak value and total pollen sum, while the PC2 variable correlated with the pollen season start date and season duration (a negative correlation). Regression models were developed for the following pollen season characteristics: season start, end and duration, seasonal peak date, and total annual pollen sum. CONCLUSIONS The fit of the forecast models was at the level of 62-94%. Analysis of the data showed that weather conditions mainly in February were important factors controlling the Fraxinus pollen season.

Flowering Phenology of Selected Linden (Tilia L.) Taxa in Relation to Pollen Seasons

Abstract All lindens provide Apidae insects with nectar, pollen, and honeydew. Lindens are important melliferous trees in Poland. The first purpose of the study was to carry out phenological observations of the flowering in ten linden taxa. The second aim was to analyse the content of linden pollen grains in the air of Lublin. A correlation between the parameters of the pollen season and meteorological factors was also determined. This study was conducted in the city of Lublin located in the central-eastern part of Poland. The flowering phenophases were analysed, using the method developed by Łukasiewicz, during the growing seasons of 2012-2015. Aerobiological monitoring, which was based on the volumetric method, was carried out over the 2001-2014 time period. As shown in the study, the flowering period of all the analysed linden taxa lasted 7 weeks, on average, from June 7 to July 24. The average length of the flowering period of the investigated taxa and hybrids was in the range of 12-17 days. Their flowering periods overlapped. The atmospheric pollen season lasted, on average, from mid-June to the second 10-day period of July. The highest concentration of airborne pollen was noted at the end of June. The pollen season pattern was significantly affected by temperature and relative air humidity as well as by rainfall in May and June. The investigations indicate a 9-day acceleration of the pollen season, which may be associated with global warming.