The Macroecology of Airborne Pollen in Australian and New Zealand Urban Areas

Haberle, Simon; Bowman, David M. J. S.; Newnham, Rewi M.; Johnston, Fay H.; Beggs, Paul J.; Buters, Jeroen; Campbell, Bradley C.; Erbas, Bircan; Godwin, Ian D.; Green, Brett J.; Huete, Alfredo; Jaggard, Alison K.; Medek, Danielle E.; Murray, Frank; Newbigin, Ed; Thibaudon, M.; Vicendese, Don; Williamson, Grant J.; Davies, Janet M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0097925

Cited by 64 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…We assembled daily (24 h) airborne grass pollen concentration data from eight Australian and six NZ urban sites for sampling periods spanning from 1 to 17 years (Table 1; Haberle et al 2014). Pollen counts were performed and converted to grains per cubic meter of air for sites in (from lowest to highest latitude) Darwin (two sites), Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra (two sites) and Hobart over 2, 5, 8, 4 and 3 fiscal years, respectively (Dass 2010; Erbas et al 2007b; Green et al 2004; Katelaris and Burke 2003; Newnham et al 1995; Newnham 1999; Stevenson et al 2007, Tng et al 2010).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…New Zealand’s climate is less diverse, and is similar to southeastern Australia, though generally characterized by cooler temperatures and higher rainfall (Sturman and Tapper 2006). Across these climate gradients, there is distinctive variation in the composition and distribution of vegetation communities and the airborne pollen assemblages they produce (Haberle et al 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although available for most capital cities, seasonal grass pollen monitoring in Australia has been poorly coordinated at a national level, with campaigns of variable duration and using a variety of methodologies (Haberle et al 2014). Aerobiological research in NZ has also been limited in geographic coverage and temporal duration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have previously shown that the diversity of pollen recorded from Australian and New Zealand monitoring sites reflects climate, land use and plant introduction (Haberle et al 2014). We have also observed that the timing of the grass pollen season differs between geographic locations and over time (Beggs et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regional and seasonal variation in airborne grass pollen levels between cities of Australia and New Zealand

et al. 2015

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Although grass pollen is widely regarded as the major outdoor aeroallergen source in Australia and New Zealand (NZ), no assemblage of airborne pollen data for the region has been previously compiled. Grass pollen count data collected at 14 urban sites in Australia and NZ over periods ranging from 1 to 17 years were acquired, assembled and compared, revealing considerable spatiotemporal variability. Although direct comparison between these data is problematic due to methodological differences between monitoring sites, the following patterns are apparent. Grass pollen seasons tended to have more than one peak from tropics to latitudes of 37°S and single peaks at sites south of this latitude. A longer grass pollen season was therefore found at sites below 37°S, driven by later seasonal end dates for grass growth and flowering. Daily pollen counts increased with latitude; subtropical regions had seasons of both high intensity and long duration. At higher latitude sites, the single springtime grass pollen peak is potentially due to a cooler growing season and a predominance of pollen from C3 grasses. The multiple peaks at lower latitude sites may be due to a warmer season and the predominance of pollen from C4 grasses. Prevalence and duration of seasonal allergies may reflect the differing pollen seasons across Australia and NZ. It must be emphasized that these findings are tentative due to limitations in the available data, reinforcing the need to implement standardized pollen-monitoring methods across Australasia. Furthermore, spatiotemporal differences in grass pollen counts indicate that local, current, standardized pollen monitoring would assist with the management of pollen allergen exposure for patients at risk of allergic rhinitis and asthma.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regional and seasonal variation in airborne grass pollen levels between cities of Australia and New Zealand

et al. 2015

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“…With the exception of the Palmerston North study of pine pollen, none of these papers focused on tree pollen. Recently, a series of publications have reviewed the available information about allergenic pollen levels in Australia and New Zealand and highlighted the emphasis placed to date on grass pollen [12][13][14][15]. As such, little is known about the levels of tree pollen in New Zealand, nor the extent to which such pollens could be contributing to the burden of allergenic rhinitis in New Zealand.…”

Section: Previous Monitoring Of Airborne Pollen In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Levels of Allergenic Tree Pollen in Southern New Zealand

Newnham¹

2017

BJSTR

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The South African Pollen Monitoring Network: Insights from 2 years of national aerospora sampling (2019–2021)

Esterhuizen,

Berman,

Neumann

et al. 2023

Clinical & Translational All

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BackgroundPollen monitoring has been discontinuously undertaken in South Africa, a country with high biodiversity, a seasonal rainfall gradient, and nine biomes from arid to subtropical. The South African Pollen Monitoring Network was set up in 2019 to conduct the first long‐term national aerospora monitoring across multiple biomes, providing weekly reports to allergy sufferers and healthcare providers.MethodsDaily airborne pollen concentrations were measured from August 2019 to August 2021 in seven cities across South Africa. Updated pollen calendars were created for the major pollen types (>3%), the average Annual Pollen Index over 12 months was calculated, and the results were compared to available historical data.ResultsThe main pollen types were from exotic vegetation. The most abundant taxa were Poaceae, Cupressaceae, Moraceae and Buddleja. The pollen season start, peak and end varied widely according to the biome and suite of pollen taxa. The main tree season started in the last week of August, peaked in September and ended in early December. Grass seasons followed rainfall patterns: September–January and January–April for summer and winter rainfall areas, respectively. Major urban centres, for example, Johannesburg and Pretoria in the same biome with similar rainfall, showed substantive differences in pollen taxa and abundance. Some major differences in pollen spectra were detected compared with historical data. However, we are cognisant that we are describing only 2 years of data that may be skewed by short‐term weather patterns.ConclusionsDifferences in pollen spectra and concentrations were noted across biomes and between geographically close urban centres. Comparison with historical data suggests pollen spectra and seasons may be changing due to anthropogenic climate change and landscaping. These data stress the importance of regional and continuous pollen monitoring for informed care of pollinosis.

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The Macroecology of Airborne Pollen in Australian and New Zealand Urban Areas

Cited by 64 publications

References 53 publications

Regional and seasonal variation in airborne grass pollen levels between cities of Australia and New Zealand

Regional and seasonal variation in airborne grass pollen levels between cities of Australia and New Zealand

High Levels of Allergenic Tree Pollen in Southern New Zealand

The South African Pollen Monitoring Network: Insights from 2 years of national aerospora sampling (2019–2021)

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