Bioaerosols in urban environments: Trends and interactions with pollutants and meteorological variables based on quasi-climatological series.

Pollen grains emitted by urban vegetation are the main primary biological airborne particles (PBAPs) which alter the biological quality of urban air and have a significant impact on human health. This work analyses the interactions which exist between pollen-type PBAPs, meteorological variables, and air pollutants in the urban atmosphere so that the complex relationships and trends in future scenarios of changing environmental conditions can be assessed. For this study, the 1992-2018 pollen data series from the city of Granada (southeast Spain) was used, in which the dynamics of the total pollen as well as the 8 main pollen types (Cupressaceae, Olea, Pinus, Platanus, Poaceae, Populus, Quercus and Urticaceae) were analysed.

Assessing pollination disservices of urban street-trees: The case of London-plane tree (Platanus x hispanica Mill. ex Münchh).

Platanusx hispanica (London plane) is a tree species widely used in urban areas due to the diversity of ecosystem services it provides. However, its functions also have some negative effects or associated disservices, such as the emission of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) and allergens. This work aims to analyze the effect that urban environmental conditions and air pollutants have on pollen emissions of plane tree.

Parietaria major allergens vs pollen in the air we breathe.

Background: Parietaria and Urtica are the genera from the Urticaceae family more frequent in Mediterranean and Atlantic areas. Moreover, both genera share pollination periods, and their pollen (of the main species) is so similar that there is no aerobiological evidence of the proportion of each of them in the airborne pollen identification, except in the case of U. membranacea.

Tracking Montane Mediterranean grasslands: Analysis of the effects of snow with other related hydro-meteorological variables and land-use change on pollen emissions.

This paper explores the dynamics of temporal evolution of the high mountain Mediterranean grasslands, (Sierra Nevada, Spain SE). The indicator used is the emission of pollen (Pollen Index, PI) with respect to two important aspects: the incidence of the snow dynamic together with other hydro-meteorological parameters, and the changes in land use, which can Influence the evolution of the grasslands throughout time. The results reveal that pollen emissions in the last 25 years have shown a slight downward trend, with large interannual fluctuations, which are a consequence of diverse environmental factors, both general and specific to the area.

Assessing allergenicity in urban parks: A nature-based solution to reduce the impact on public health.

Urban parks play a key role in the provision of ecosystem services, actively participating in improving the quality of life and welfare of local residents. This paper reports on the application of an index designed to quantify the allergenicity of urban parks in a number of Spanish cities. The index, which records biological and biometric parameters for the tree species growing there, classifies parks in terms of the risk they pose for allergy sufferers, graded as null, low, moderate or high.

Characterization of Allergen Emission Sources in Urban Areas.

Pollen released by urban flora-a major contributor to airborne allergen content during the pollen season-has a considerable adverse impact on human health. Using aerobiological techniques to sample and characterize airborne biological particulate matter (BPM), we can identify the main species contributing to the pollen spectrum and chart variations in counts and overall pollen dynamics throughout the year. However, given the exponential increase in the number of pollen allergy sufferers in built-up areas, new strategies are required to improve the biological quality of urban air.

Phenological models to predict the main flowering phases of olive (Olea europaea L.) along a latitudinal and longitudinal gradient across the Mediterranean region.

The aim of the present study was to develop pheno-meteorological models to explain and forecast the main olive flowering phenological phases within the Mediterranean basin, across a latitudinal and longitudinal gradient that includes Tunisia, Spain, and Italy. To analyze the aerobiological sampling points, study periods from 13 years (1999-2011) to 19 years (1993-2011) were used. The forecasting models were constructed using partial least-squares regression, considering both the flowering start and full-flowering dates as dependent variables.

Platanus pollen season in Andalusia (southern Spain): trends and modeling.

Platanus is a major cause of pollen allergy in many Spanish cities. The present paper reports an analysis of Platanus pollen season throughout the Andalusia region (southern Spain), which has among the highest pollen counts and the highest incidence of Platanus-related allergies in Europe. The main aim was to analyze pollen season trends from 1992 to 2010 in Andalusia; models were also constructed to forecast the start of the season.

Olive flowering trends in a large Mediterranean area (Italy and Spain).

The aim of this study was to investigate the main climatic and biological trends related to olive flowering in central-southern Italy compared to those in Andalusia, Spain. Results since 1982 were compared for the two long-series monitoring areas of Cordoba and Perugia, and since 1992-1999 for the short-series areas. The relationship between climatic trends and the biological response of the olive, a widespread culture in the Mediterranean basin, were investigated.