Concentric Ring Method for generating pollen maps. Quercus as case study.
Mapping pollen concentrations is of great interest to study the health impact and ecological implications or for forestry or agronomical purposes. A deep knowledge about factors affecting airborne pollen is essential for predicting and understanding its dynamics. The present work sought to predict annual Quercus pollen over the Castilla and León region (Central and Northern Spain). Also to understand the relationship between airborne pollen and landscape. Records of Quercus and Quercus pyrenaica pollen types were collected at 13 monitoring sites over a period of 8years. They were analyzed together with land use data applying the Concentric Ring Method (CRM), a technique that we developed to study the relationship between airborne particle concentrations and emission sources in the region. The maximum correlation between the Quercus pollen and forms of vegetation was determined by shrubland and "dehesa" areas. For the specific Qi pyrenaica model (Q. pyrenaica pollen and Q. pyrenaica forest distribution), the maximum influence of emission sources on airborne pollen was observed at 14km from the pollen trap location with some positive correlations up to a distance of 43km. Apart from meteorological behavior, the local features of the region can explain pollen dispersion patterns. The method that we develop here proved to be a powerful tool for multi-source pollen mapping based on land use.
Center of Allergy & Environment (ZAUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Technische Universitat München, Germany. Electronic address: oterosjose@gmail.com.
Jose
J
Oteros
Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management (Botany), University of León, Spain.
Rosa Mª
RM
Valencia
Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management (Botany), University of León, Spain.
Sara
S
Del Río
Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management (Botany), University of León, Spain.
Ana Mª
AM
Vega
Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Spain.
Herminia
H
García-Mozo
Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Spain.
Carmen
C
Galán
Department of Management and Business Economics, University of León, Spain.
Pablo
P
Gutiérrez
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, Bologna, Italy.
Paolo
P
Mandrioli
Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management (Botany), University of León, Spain; Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, Bologna, Italy.
Delia
D
Fernández-González
Aerobiology; Concentric Ring Method; Geostatistics; Map; Pollen index; Quercus