High Pinaceae pollen concentrations in the air and on the surface of puddles before the main pollen season started were observed in Kraków (southern Poland) in May 2013. The paper presents the results of detailed studies of the composition and source of the "yellow rain" in 2013, and as a comparison, the Pinaceae pollen concentrations and samples collected from the ground surface in 2014 were considered. The air samples were collected using the volumetric method (Hirst-type device), while pollen grains sampled from the ground surface were processed using a modified Erdtman acetolysis method. Finally, all samples were studied using a light microscope. In 2013, the period of higher Abies, Picea and Pinus pollen concentrations was observed from the 5 to 12 of May, earlier than the main pollen season occurred. The presence of rainfall on the 12 and 13 of May 2013 caused the pollen deposition on the ground surface, where the prevalence of Pinaceae pollen was found. The synoptic situation and the analysis of the back-trajectories and air mass advection at the beginning of May 2013 indicated that Pinaceae pollen grains could have been transported from Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. In contrast, Pinaceae pollen grains deposited on the ground surface as a "yellow" film in May 2014, originated from local sources.
The paper presents preliminary analysis of grass pollen season of 2011 in selected measuring sites in Poland. The season was characterised by very intensive allergy symptoms in patients suffering from grass pollen allergens. Many days with high and very high pollen counts very noted.
This paper presents the curse of grass pollination seasons in the cities Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Krakow, Lublin, Łodź, Rzeszow, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warszawa and Wroclaw in 2007. Measurements were performed by the volumetric method with the use of a Burkard and Lanzoni Spore Trap. The duration of the pollen seasons was defined as the period in which 98 % of the annual total catch occurred. The pollen seasons of grass started first in Wroclaw and Krakow (20, 30 April), the latest in Bialystok (13 May). The highest concentration of pollen grains was noted in Łodź (513 z/m3), the lowest in Krakow (106 z/m3). The period of the maximum concentrations was recorded in 29 May and the off 21 June.
The aim of the study was to determinate whether <em>Artemisia campestris</em> was present in the vicinity of 8 pollen monitoring stations in Poland by examining temporal variations in daily average airborne <em>Artemisia</em> pollen data recorded by Hirst type volumetric traps. Three day moving averages of airborne <em>Artemisia</em> pollen were examined by Spearman’s rank correlation test. Results show that <em>Artemisia</em> pollen seasons in Poland generally display similar unimodal patterns (correlation coefficients <em>r</em> > 0.900; <em>P</em> < 0.05). The only exception was the <em>Artemisia</em> pollen concentration noted in the outskirts of Poznań (Morasko), where the bimodal pattern was revealed. Correlations between <em>Artemisia</em> pollen data recorded at Poznań-Morasko and the other Polish sites were the lowest in the investigated dataset; this was particularly noticeable in the second part of pollen season (<em>r</em> ~0.730). We show that the typical bimodal pattern in <em>Artemisia</em> pollen seasons, which is characteristic of the presence of both <em>A. vulgaris</em> (first peak) and <em>A. campestris</em> (second peak), does not occur at the majority of sites in Poland and is restricted to the outskirts of Poznań. In fact, it was noted that the pollen monitoring site in Poznań-Centre, just 8 km from Morasko, only exhibited one peak (attributed to <em>A. vulgaris</em>). This shows that the influence of <em>A. campestris</em> on airborne pollen season curves is limited and can be largely disregarded. In addition, this study supports previous records showing that the spatial distribution of airborne <em>Artemisia</em> pollen within a city (urban-rural gradient) can vary markedly, depending on the species composition.
This paper presents the course of oak pollination season in selected cities of Poland in 2014. The measurements were performed in Wroclaw, Sosnowiec, Cracow, Lublin, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Drawsko Pomorskie, Olsztyn, Warsaw, Piotrkow Trybunalski and Zielona Gora. Volumetric method with the use of Volumetric Spore Trap (Burkard, Lanzoni) was implemented. Pollen season was defined as the period in which 95% of the annual total catch occurred. Pollen season of oak in 2014 started faster in comparison to 2013. The season started first in Szczecin (3 April). The highest 24-hour average pollen count was recorded in Wroclaw on 14 April (380 oak pollen grains/m3).
The aim of the study was to compare the pollen season of alder in the cities of Szczecin, Warsaw, Cracow, Lublin, Wroclaw, Bialystok and Bydgoszcz in 2009. Measurements were performed by the volumetric method (Burkard and Lanzoni pollen sampler). Pollen season was defined as the period in which 98% of the annual total catch occurred. Seasonal Pollen Index (SPI) was estimated as the annual sum of daily average pollen concentrations. The pollen season of alder started first in Szczecin on the 3rd of February and in the other cities it started during the next 3–4 weeks. The differences of pollen seasons duration were considerable. The highest, record airborne concentration of 778 pollen grains/m3 was noted in Szczecin on the 17th of March. In Szczecin statistically significant correlation was found between the pollen count of alder versus the relative humidity, wind speed and air temperature. Flowering and pollination are a dynamics and complex phenomenon and it is difficult to separate individual effects of different meteorological parameters.
