Airborne pollen of Olea in five regions of Portugal.

The aim of this work was to study spatial and temporal distribution of Olea europeae airborne pollen in different Portuguese regions: Reguengos de Monsaraz (south); Bairrada (west); Braga (northwest); Valença do Douro and Foz Côa (north-east). Airborne pollen sampling was conducted from 1998-2003 using "Cour" type samplers located in each region. The main pollen season (MPS) of Olea lasted on average 36 days and occurred from late April until middle-to-end of June. During the studied period, inter-annual variations among and within regions, concerning the total annual pollen counts and the beginning, peak and ending dates of the MPS, were reported. Reguengos de Monsaraz and Bairrada registered the earliest MPS starting date, followed by Valença do Douro and Foz-Côa, and the latest date was verified in Braga that also had the shortest MPS. Reguengos de Monsaraz presented the longest MPS with the highest differences in the beginning and ending dates, but minimum differences in the dates of the maximum pollen peak. Our results showed an increase in the Olea annual pollen index, from north to south, and from the west to the east regions of the country.