Modern Pollen Rain in the Tibetan Plateau

The basis for the interpretation of fossil-pollen assemblages in terms of vegetation and climate is the present-day relationship of vegetation and climate to pollen rain. Detailed modern pollen spectra from the Tibetan Plateau are described here to explore the relationship between modern pollen rain and vegetation. Two hundred and thirty four (234) pollen surface samples were collected from moss polsters, top soil, and lake surface sediments from forests, shrublands, shrub meadows, meadows, steppes, and deserts in the Tibetan Plateau. Pollen assemblages from each vegetation type are detailed described using pollen percentage data, and compared descriptively and numerically using cluster analysis. Pollen spectra from forests are characterized by high percentages of tree pollen types including Pinus, Abies, Picea, Quercus, and Betula. Pollen spectra from shrublands have highest amounts of shrub pollen. The dominants of shrublands, such as Rhododendron, Juniperus, Salix, and shrub Quercus, are well-represented in most of these pollen spectra. Pollen spectra from shrub meadows have less shrub pollen than those from shrublands, but more than those from meadows, steppes and deserts. The most frequent shrub pollen in this vegetation type is Rosaceae. Most of pollen spectra from shrub meadows are dominated by Cyperaceae pollen. Pollen spectra from meadows are characterized by the very high percentages of Cyperaceae pollen. The highest amounts of Cyperaceae pollen occur in pollen spectra from alpine-marshy meadows. Pollen spectra from Stipa steppes are characterized by the highest percentages of Poaceae pollen, and high Cyperaceae pollen percentages, whereas pollen spectra from Artemisia steppes have the highest percentages of Artemisia pollen. Pollen spectra from arid deserts are dominated by Chenopodiaceae. Main vegetation types can be distinguished by their modern pollen rain, i.e., modern pollen spectra do reflect the modern vegetation at local and regional scale in the Tibetan Plateau. This modern pollen database can thus be used to explore the pollen/vegetation and pollen/climate relationships by a variety of numerical methods.

Modern Pollen Assemblages in Typical Agro-Pastoral Ecotone in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau and Its Implications for Anthropogenic Activities

Long-term evolution of human-environment interaction in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has been discussed intensively in recent years. The identification of human-related pollen types may help explore the coupled process of climate change, ecological response and anthropogenic activities on the QTP. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic activities on surface pollen assemblages and identify pollen indicators associated with grazing and cultivation in typical agro-pastoral ecotone of the eastern QTP. Totally 84 surface samples were analyzed from five vegetational communities in the eastern QTP, which are identifiable based on surface pollen assemblages. Principal component analysis of 29 pollen types and two supplementary variables of human influences were used to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on surface pollen assemblages in eastern QTP. Severe grazing led to increase of Rosaceae, Ranunculaceae, Fabaceae, Taraxacum-Type, Aster-type and Saussurea-Type in pollen assemblages. Highland agricultural cultivation can be identified by the content and morphological characteristic of Brassicaceae and Cerealia Poaceae pollen. The aerial dispersed distances of Brassicaceae and Cerealia Poaceae pollen are very short, and domesticated herbivores are important factors, which disperse the Cerealia Poaceae pollen into pastures in agro-pastoral ecotone of the QTP. Modern pollen indicators of cultivation and grazing activity will provide precise references for fossil pollen study of prehistoric human activities in the QTP.

50 Years of Pollen Monitoring in Basel (Switzerland) Demonstrate the Influence of Climate Change on Airborne Pollen

Climate change and human impact on vegetation modify the timing and the intensity of the pollen season. The 50 years of pollen monitoring in Basel, Switzerland provide a unique opportunity to study long-term changes in pollen data. Since 1969, pollen monitoring has been carried out in Basel with a Hirst-type pollen trap. Pollen season parameters for start dates, end dates and duration were calculated with different pollen season definitions, which are commonly used in aerobiology. Intensity was analyzed by the annual pollen integral (APIn), peak value and the number of days above specific thresholds. Linear trends were calculated with the non-parametric Mann Kendall method with a Theil-Sen linear trend slope. During the last 50 years, linear increase of the monthly mean temperatures in Basel was 0.95–1.95°C in the 3 winter months, 2–3.7°C in spring months and 2.75–3.85°C in summer months. Due to this temperature increase, the start dates of the pollen season for most of the spring pollen species have advanced, from 7 days for Poaceae to 29 days for Taxus/Cupressaceae. End dates of the pollen season depend on the chosen pollen season definition. Negative trends predominate, i.e., the pollen season mostly ends earlier. Trends in the length of the pollen season depend even more on the season definitions and results are contradictory and often not significant. The intensity of the pollen season of almost all tree pollen taxa increased significantly, while the Poaceae pollen season did not change and the pollen season of herbs decreased, except for Urticaceae pollen. Climate change has a particular impact on the pollen season, but the definitions used for the pollen season parameters are crucial for the calculation of the trends. The most stable results were achieved with threshold definitions that indicate regular occurrence above certain concentrations. Percentage definitions are not recommended for trend studies when the annual pollen integral changed significantly.

Influence of Environmental Pollutants at the Pollen of Poaceae

More than 12,000 species belong to the Poaceae family globally; 300 species grow in Kyrgyzstan, anemophilous and releasing a huge amount of pollen into the atmosphere. Poaceae pollen is currently considered the leading airborne biological pollutant (PM10) and the leading cause of pollen allergy worldwide. She is one of the top global aeroallergens. Poaceae pollen has common features: small size, homogeneous morphology, high pollen production and abundance of species. The aim of this work was to study the effect of environmental pollutants on the pollen of Poaceae plants, the classification of identified teratomorphoses and assessment of their specific contribution to the aerobiological situation. The study of Poaceae pollen from various observation points of Kyrgyzstan using scanning electron microscopy revealed teratomorphoses of varying degrees of complexity: 1) deformation; 2) perforation; 3) fragmentation; 4) complex changes in the sculptural elements of the exine surface; 5) combined teratomorphosis, including several types with the transformation of one modification into another. This article summarizes the results of studies reflecting the effects of environmental pollutants on Poaceae pollen, and ultimately on the severity of symptoms and the prevalence of pollinosis.

Grass pollen morphology investigation as a basis for monitoring of allergenic biological particles in an automatic mode

A clear distinction between the morphology of allergenic pollen grains of various genera of the Poaceae family is an important task in determining the causal allergenic factors in the population. It allows significant improvement of the efficiency of seasonal allergy diagnostics caused by grass pollen. Moreover, it let to perform better predictions of allergenic risks for people, suffering from pollinosis caused by Poaceae pollen. Therefore, the aim of our study was to establish the morphological difference between the pollen grains of plants of various species of Poaceae family in order to further determination of the possibility to use the established distinctions for the identification of pollen in aerobiological studies. For this, both herbarium samples and pollen of the studied plants were collected in the field during May-June 2019 in Vinnytsia. The pollen was shaken off the anthers directly onto a glass slide, immediately stained with basic fuchsin, and covered with a cover slip. The sizes of pollen grains – their width and length – were determined and analyzed using the PhotoM 1.21 program, and the obtained data on the sizes of pollen were divided into categories by the quartile method in Excel. Three categories of pollen sizes were identified: large, medium and small. Large grains had width and length parameters of 40 μm or more, average grains ranged from 26 to 39 μm, and small grains had a size of 26 μm or lesser in width and length. The large category includes the pollen of Hordeum morinum (39.5-53.1 μm), Elytrigia repens (41-48 μm), Secale cereale (48.4-62.5 μm) and Bromus arvensis (42.2-52.7 μm). The medium grain category included pollen from Dactylis glomerata (29.2-38.1 μm), Poa spp. (26.1-37.3 μm), Panicum capillare (33.3-39.5 μm), Lolium perenne (30.4-35.3 μm), Bromus sterilis (28.3-30.8 μm). The pollen size of B. ramosus ranged from 26.1 to 39.5 µm, and B. tectorum was from 35 to 38.4 µm. The pollen grains of Poa pratense (22.1-25.9 μm) and Piptatherum spp were assigned to the category of the smallest pollen (20.3-24.1 microns). Agrostis gigantea was the only grass pollen type whose size fitted for each category. We found out large, medium-sized and grains of 25.0-27.7 microns, which lie between categories 2 and 3, for different populations of this plant. Consequently, some genera and species of Poaceae can be distinguished by the size of their pollen, while in others the size of pollen grains varies considerably. It is necessary to carry out further research that will help to establish the morphology of pollen of a larger number of Grass family plants. This will significantly improve the diagnosis and prevention of seasonal allergy caused by grass pollen in Ukraine.

Land-Use and Height of Pollen Sampling Affect Pollen Exposure in Munich, Germany

Airborne pollen concentrations vary depending on the location of the pollen trap with respect to the pollen sources. Two Hirst-type pollen traps were analyzed within the city of Munich (Germany): one trap was located 2 m above ground level (AGL) and the other one at rooftop (35 m AGL), 4.2 km apart. In general, 1.4 ± 0.5 times higher pollen amounts were measured by the trap located at ground level, but this effect was less than expected considering the height difference between the traps. Pollen from woody trees such as Alnus, Betula, Corylus, Fraxinus, Picea, Pinus and Quercus showed a good agreement between the traps in terms of timing and intensity. Similar amounts of pollen were recorded in the two traps when pollen sources were more abundant outside of the city. In contrast, pollen concentrations from Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Carpinus and Tilia were influenced by nearby pollen sources. The representativeness of both traps for herbaceous pollen depended on the dispersal capacity of the pollen grains, and in the case of Poaceae pollen, nearby pollen sources may influence the pollen content in the air. The timing of the pollen season was similar for both sites; however, the season for some pollen types ended later at ground level probably due to resuspension processes that would favor recirculation of pollen closer to ground level. We believe measurements from the higher station provides a picture of background pollen levels representative of a large area, to which local sources add additional and more variable pollen amounts.