Differences in concentrations of allergenic pollens at different heights in Denizli, Turkey

Abstract

An investigation was carried out on the airborne pollen fall in the State of Denizli during the year 2000. Two Durham samplers were placed at different heights above the ground. The averages of pollen counts from 2 samplers were calculated at the end of year. The pollen from 34 flowering plant taxa (20 arboreal +14 non-arboreal) with a total average of 6856 grains/cm2 dominated the atmosphere in this State. Out of these 83.9% belonged to the arboreal, 16.10% to the non-arboreal plants and 6.25% were from the family Poaceae. The pollen counts from two heights were different. At higher level (15 m) the total pollen concentration was 7717 per cm2, out of which 6471 per cm2 were of arboreal origin and 1246 per cm non-arboreal ones. At the lower level (1.50 m) it was 5995 per cm2, out of which 5033 per cm2 belonged to the arboreal and 962 per cm2 to the non-arboreal group. The maximum number of pollen counts was recorded from the arboreal plants because this area gets enough precipitation for the growth of arboreal species The highest number of pollen in the arboreal plants followed the trend as; Pinaceae (40.92%), Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (14.16%), Quercus (9.8%), Olea europaea (7.03%) and Platanus orientalis (5.69%), and for non-arboreal representatives these were Poaceae (6.25%) Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae (2.67%), Fabaceae (1.65%) and Carex (1.22%). Maximum pollen density was recorded during the spring season and minimum in autumn. During this study period the number of allergic patients treated in the hospitals was 1552 persons, with an outstanding increase during the months of April, March, May and August.