Cities as harbingers of climate change: Common ragweed, urbanization, and public health

Ziska, Lewis H.; Gebhard, Dennis E.; Frenz, David A.; Faulkner, Shaun; Singer, Benjamin D.; Straka, James G.

doi:10.1067/mai.2003.53

Cited by 393 publications

(298 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…Because of its wellrecognized association with allergic disease, a number of studies have demonstrated a probable role between climate change (i.e., rising CO 2 and temperature), phenology, and pollen production of common ragweed (29)(30)(31). However, these links were established at the laboratory level (30) and as a function of urbanization (27). The current study illustrates, on a continental scale, a clear association between recent warming, and an increase in the duration of ragweed pollen season, a major aeroallergen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed pollen season in central North America

Ziska

Knowlton

Rogers

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

333

220

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A fundamental aspect of climate change is the potential shifts in flowering phenology and pollen initiation associated with milder winters and warmer seasonal air temperature. Earlier floral anthesis has been suggested, in turn, to have a role in human disease by increasing time of exposure to pollen that causes allergic rhinitis and related asthma. However, earlier floral initiation does not necessarily alter the temporal duration of the pollen season, and, to date, no consistent continental trend in pollen season length has been demonstrated. Here we report that duration of the ragweed (Ambrosia spp.) pollen season has been increasing in recent decades as a function of latitude in North America. Latitudinal effects on increasing season length were associated primarily with a delay in first frost of the fall season and lengthening of the frost free period. Overall, these data indicate a significant increase in the length of the ragweed pollen season by as much as 13-27 d at latitudes above ∼44°N since 1995. This is consistent with recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections regarding enhanced warming as a function of latitude. If similar warming trends accompany long-term climate change, greater exposure times to seasonal allergens may occur with subsequent effects on public health. aerobiology | allergies | global warming

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…judaica) as well as olive and cypress, but only for western Liguria (approximately) 47°N. It is unclear whether this increase is a result of greater relative impact of warming at this latitude or of urbanization per se (27). Years represent the number of years for which pollen data were available.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed pollen season in central North America

Ziska

Knowlton

Rogers

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

333

220

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“…Three sites had been selected along a CO 2 /temperature transect which had been used in a previous study and where the microclimate had been partially characterized (Ziska et al 2003). These sites are located at an organic farm near Buckeystown, Maryland (rural, control site) approximately 50 km from the center of the city of Baltimore; a city park (Carrie Murray Nature Center, suburban site) which is on the edge of the city/county line, approximately 10 km from the city center and a site at the Baltimore Science Center (urban site) which is <0.5 km from the city center.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of an urban-rural CO 2 /temperature gradient and associated changes in initial plant productivity during secondary succession

2004

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To examine the impact of climate change on vegetative productivity, we exposed fallow agricultural soil to an in situ temperature and CO 2 gradient between urban, suburban and rural areas in 2002. Along the gradient, average daytime CO 2 concentration increased by 21% and maximum (daytime) and minimum (nighttime) daily temperatures increased by 1.6 and 3.3°C, respectively in an urban relative to a rural location. Consistent location differences in soil temperature were also ascertained. No other consistent differences in meteorological variables (e.g. wind speed, humidity, PAR, tropospheric ozone) as a function of urbanization were documented. The urban-induced environmental changes that were observed were consistent with most short-term (~50 year) global change scenarios regarding CO 2 concentration and air temperature. Productivity, determined as final above-ground biomass, and maximum plant height were positively affected by daytime and soil temperatures as well as enhanced [CO 2 ], increasing 60 and 115% for the suburban and urban sites, respectively, relative to the rural site. While long-term data are needed, these initial results suggest that urban environments may act as a reasonable surrogate for investigating future climatic change in vegetative communities.

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“…This has been widely observed by in situ phenological records for many species in many parts of the world; flowering dates of spring flowers in East Asia (Ho et al, 2006;Lu et al, 2006), Central Europe (Roetzer et al, 2000), as well as ragweed in USA (Ziska et al, 2003) have been found to have advanced from a few days to a couple of weeks during the last decades in the 20th century. Similar results have been obtained from studies based on satellite-derived greenness data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of urban warming on earlier spring flowering in Korea

Jeong

Linderholm

et al. 2011

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Using long-term observations of four selected species in South Korea: goldenbell (Forsythia koreana), azalea (Rhododendron mucronulatum), cherry (Prunus yedoensis), and peach (Prunus persica), the impact of urban warming on spring flowering was investigated. Trends of early spring temperatures and first-flowering dates (FFDs) of the four plants were cross-compared among nine differently urbanized cities. It was clearly observed that urban warming has led to an advance in the timing of first-flowering of several days to weeks during recent decades, while the intrinsic physiology of plants to sense thermal energy has not been changed. The degree of advancement of the FFD was observed to be roughly proportional to degree of urbanization. Moreover, the sensitivity of the FFD to urban warming was estimated to be higher for the shrub species (−9.07 and −6.64 days°C −1 for goldenbell and azalea, respectively) than the tree species (−2.46 and −2.90 days°C −1 for peach and cherry, respectively). Our results suggest that the impact of urban warming should be considered as an influential factor which drives changes in the regional natural environment, especially in regions of rapid urbanization.

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Cities as harbingers of climate change: Common ragweed, urbanization, and public health

Cited by 393 publications

References 24 publications

Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed pollen season in central North America

Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed pollen season in central North America

Characterization of an urban-rural CO 2 /temperature gradient and associated changes in initial plant productivity during secondary succession

Impact of urban warming on earlier spring flowering in Korea

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