Aerobiological assessment of dominant pollen types in Muğla: Preliminary results
摘要
In this study, dominant airborne pollen in the province of Muğla, which is one of the important tourism centers and is located on the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey, was investigated for the first time using the volumetric method. In this two-year study conducted between February 01, 2014, and January 31, 2016, the annual pollen integral (APIn) was recorded as 20,524 pollen*day/m3 in the first year (2014) and 15,041 pollen*day/m3 in the second year (2015). The taxa Pinaceae, Quercus, Olea europaea, Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, and Poaceae accounted for 86.52% of the APIn in 2014 and 77.73% in 2015. The airborne pollen concentration of Pinaceae constituted approximately half of all pollen types (46.28%). In addition to the dominant airborne taxa, Plantago, Urticaceae, Amaranthaceae, Rumex, and Morus pollen grains were also identified as important pollen types in the Muğla atmosphere. The most significant meteorological factors on the airborne concentrations of the dominant taxa within the period of the study included mean temperature and total precipitation. An increase in mean temperature had a positive effect on Olea europaea, Quercus, and Cupressaceae/Taxaceae pollen concentrations, while it had a negative effect on Poaceae pollen concentration. Similarly, total precipitation had a negative effect on airborne concentrations of all dominant pollen types. On the other hand, wind speed did not show a significant effect on pollen concentration. April, during which 44.40% of the total pollen was recorded over the two-year period, was identified as the month posing the highest risk for sensitized individuals living in the region.