Aeropalynological aspects in the detection of the quality of air in Bratislava

Abstract

This work is focused on mapping the aeropalynologic situation in the Bratislavan atmosphere.
Volumetric pollen and pollen abortivity analyses were used for this purpose. The research comprised
comparison of two pollen stations in this city between 2007 and 2011. Twice the number
of pollen grains was measured at the U.V.Z. station compared to the D.B. station. Results showed
that (1) the highest pollen totals for the period were recorded in the Urticaceae family, (2) April
was the month with the highest pollen yield, and (3) species of the Urticaceae family had the
longest pollen season of all studied taxa. The detected differences may have been due to various
factors including; the very different habitats in the vicinity of the stations, slightly different climatic
conditions, different evaluation methods and human factors. The ecogenotoxicity and mutagenicity
of air at these selected city locations was evaluated and compared, and the effectiveness
of our methods were verified by Betula pendula R o t h . and Pinus sylvestris L . indicator species.

Full text

Ekológia (Bratislava)
39
AEROPALYNOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN THE DETECTION
OF THE QUALITY OF AIR IN BRATISLAVA
JOZEF DUŠIČKA1, KAROL MIČIETA1, EVA BRUTOVSKÁ1, ANDREA SÁMELOVÁ1,
JANA ŠČEVKOVÁ1, MÁRIA ZÁMEČNÍKOVÁ2, ALENA TERENOVÁ2
1 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Botany, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic;
e-mail: dusicka@fns.uniba.sk
2 Public Health Authority, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Abstract
Dušička J., Mičieta K., Brutovská E., Sámelová A., Ščevková J., Zámečníková M., Terenová A.:
Aeropalynological aspects in the detection of the quality of air in Bratislava. Ekológia (Bratislava),
Vol. 32, No. 1, p. 39—53, 2013.
is work is focused on mapping the aeropalynologic situation in the Bratislavan atmosphere.
Volumetric pollen and pollen abortivity analyses were used for this purpose. e research com-
prised comparison of two pollen stations in this city between 2007 and 2011. Twice the number
of pollen grains was measured at the U.V.Z. station compared to the D.B. station. Results showed
that (1) the highest pollen totals for the period were recorded in the Urticaceae family, (2) April
was the month with the highest pollen yield, and (3) species of the Urticaceae family had the
longest pollen season of all studied taxa. e detected dierences may have been due to various
factors including; the very dierent habitats in the vicinity of the stations, slightly dierent cli-
matic conditions, dierent evaluation methods and human factors. e ecogenotoxicity and mu-
tagenicity of air at these selected city locations was evaluated and compared, and the eectiveness
of our methods were veried by Betula pendula R o t h . and Pinus sylvestris L . indicator species.
Key words: aeropalynology, pollen, abortivity, allergy, ecogenotoxicity.
Introduction
Dierent anthropogenic activities and their heterogeneous xenobiotic products negatively
inuence individual parts of the landscape and enter the cycle of matter and energy in the
natural environment. ese xenobiotic products (ecotoxic factors) are transformed by their
interactions with the environment and their mutual interactions, and consecutively inuen-
ce the environment in their changed form (Bromberg, 1990). erefore, precise and regular
bio-monitoring is necessary in order to evaluate their toxic inuence on individual parts of
the environment.
e high sensitivity of pollen grains enables their use as a basic model for indicating
phytotoxicity and mutagenicity (Mičieta, Murín, 1996) and their abortion due to environ-
mental pollution can synergize allergenic potential in the population (Horak, Jäger, 1993, ex
Hrubiško, 1996). erefore, it was decided to compare the aeropalynologic research of two
pollen stations in Bratislava during 2007—2011, and to evaluate the quantitative presence of
Vol. 32, No. 1, p. 39—53, 2013
doi:10.2478/eko-2013-0004
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40
abortive pollen grains in the air of Bratislava, focusing on the species Betula pendula Roth .
and Pinus sylvestris L.
Two pollen monitoring station are currently operating in dierent parts of the city of Bra-
tislava; the Department of Botany of the Comenius University (D.B) and e Public Health
Oce of the Slovak Republic (Úrad verejného zdravotníctva — U.V.Z). Since the number of
people suering pollen allergies (pollinoses) increases annually, the quantitative and quali-
tative analysis of pollen grains in densely populated areas is very important and necessary
(D´Amato et al., 2007). Pollen grains, pollen mother cells and pollen tetrades of diploid spe-
cies can be eectively used as basic bio-indication material to detect ecogenotoxic deteriora-
tion of the environment (Mičieta, Murín, 1996).
e goal of our study is to present and compare the results of aeropalynological monito-
ring carried out by standardized volumetric methodology which will also detect the inciden-
ce of abortive pollen grains in the air of Bratislava. We also emphasize the need to monitor
the arguable increase of the allergenic potential of pollen to cause pollinoses induced by
increased frequency of altered pollen in the environment.
Material and methods
e study was carried out in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia (Fig. 1). Bratislava lies on the range of the Danube
plain, the Malé Karpaty Mt. and the Záhorská nížina plain. It mainly covers the alluvial deposits of the Danube,
which are considerably utilized as urbanized areas, industrial complexes, and partly used for agriculture. Inuenced
by intense human activity, the original vegetation cover was completely removed or largely modied. Original plant
communities were replaced by semi-natural or synanthropic ones. Anthropogenic degradation of soils changed the
soil-ecological properties, so that Bratislava's urban vegetation is mainly represented by ornamental park vegetation
and vegetation along foothpaths and roads. Trees are mainly represented by the species; Pinus spp., Acer spp., Popu-
lus spp., Betula pendula, Fraxinus spp., Tilia cordata, Ulmus spp., Quercus spp. and Castanea spp. Weed species are
mainly from the Poaceae and Chenopodiaceae families, with Plantago spp., Ambrosia spp., Artemisia spp. and Urtica
spp. A considerable portion of the Bratislavan vegetation consists of gardens close to houses; for example, Prunus
spp., Malus spp. and the Asteraceae family. e natural vegetation of Bratislava and its surrounds particularly con-
Fig. 1. Geographical localisation of pollen monitoring stations (A – D.B., B – U.V.Z.) and meteorological observa-
tories (C — Airport, D — Mlynská dolina).
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41
sists of willow-poplar alluvial forests and lowland wetlands. Many authors have studied the vegetation of Bratislava,
including; Jurko (1958); Mucina (1981); Eliáš (1985, 1989); Jarolímek (1985, 1994); Michalko et al. (1986); Drábová-
-Kochjarová (1990); Zlinská (1996); Feráková (1996, 1997) and Daubnerová (1999).
e mean annual air temperature in Bratislava is 10.6 °C, with -1.6 °C in the coldest month of the year, January,
and 20.5 °C in the warmest month, July. e annual precipitation ranges between 530 and 650 mm, and annual
sunshine approximates 966 hours.
e rst part of the study compares data obtained from the following pollen monitoring stations; (1) the pollen
trap on the roof of D.B. which is in the north-western part of the city, 10 metres above ground (48º 08` N, 17° 04` E,
183 m a.s.l.), and (2) from the pollen trap located on the roof of the U.V.Z. SR, which is in the in the eastern part of
the city, 15 metres a.s.l. (48° 09' N, 17° 08' E, 172 m a.s.l.) (Fig. 1). ese localities are 5.3 km apart.
e daily mean pollen concentrations were monitored from February to October over four vegetation periods
(2007—2011) using a Burkard 7-day volumetric pollen trap. is sampler recorded pollen concentrations in 2-hour
samples, and the obtained values were converted to daily mean pollen concentrations for analysis.
e 12-traverse transect method was employed to count the pollen grains in daily samples at the D.B. pollen
station and four longitudinal transects were used at U.V.S SR. Pollen concentrations were expressed as the number
of pollen grains per 1 m3 of air, and the pollen grains were identied according to Erdtman (1969), Fassatiová (1979),
Spieksma et al. (1996) and Winkler et al. (2001).
e main pollen season (MPS) of selected pollen types was established by the Nilsson, Persson (1981) method
which denes the main pollen season as commencing when the sum of the pollen type concentrations reaches 5%
of the annual total pollen, and nishing when it reaches 95%.
Birch trees are the source of one of Bratislava’s most important pollen allergens, and since some of these trees
grow close to the Department of Botany (D.B), evaluation focused on abortive pollen trapped during 2009, 2010 and
2011. Simultaneously, abortivity of birch pollen was noted directly in catkins growing near this trap. Although birch
is not one of the recommended trees suitable for bioindication of phytotoxicity and genotoxicity (Mičieta, 1997), it
was monitored and results compared because of its high spontaneous abortivity, which exceeds 5%. Abortive pollen
grains were determined from the trap preparations and the preparations made according to standardized proce-
dures by Mičieta, Murín (1996). Pollen grains were isolated from anthers in catkins, dyed with 1% aniline blue in
laktofenol and evaluated microscopically.
In the nal part of the study we highlighted the process of valorisation of the model Pinus in biondication of
environmental mutagenesis. Pinus sylvestris L. was chosen for this validation because of its abundance in areas
signicantly exposed to dierent pollution factors. ese trees are oen planted in city parks or near roads and
subsequently exposed to high concentrations of harmful substances. Monitoring the phytotoxicity and mutageni-
city, collection of pollen and xation and evaluation were conducted using published procedures of Mičieta, Murín
(1996, 1998). Indication of ecogenotoxicity and subsequent determination of the induction index — the measure
of increase of ecogenotoxic deterioration and impacts on biodiversity in the urban area of Bratislava were accom-
plished using the procedure of Mičieta, Kunová (2000) and Mišík et al. (2007).
Results
During the ve monitored years (2007—2011), a total of 426 752 pollen grains were measu-
red in the air of Bratislava, 287,959 grains were measured at the U.V.Z. station and 138,793
at D.B. (Table 1). ere were no signicant dierences noted between the monitoring stati-
ons in this species spectrum. Only a few plants from the total 32 taxa of higher plants were
absent from this monitoring of 21 trees and/or shrubs and 11 herbaceous species. ose
missing specically included pollen grains of the Cyperaceae family at the U.V.Z. station and
the Ailanthus genus at D.B. (Table 2).
In quantitative terms, large dierences were noted between these stations, and also at
each station in individual years. e highest annual total of 74,806 pollen grains was mea-
sured at the U.V.Z station in 2011 and the lowest gure of 35,995 in 2007. Meanwhile, the
D.B. station returned 38,874 as its highest pollen total in 2007, and its lowest was the 14,475
recorded in 2008 (Table 2).
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Pollen taxa U.V.Z. D.B. % for Bratislava
total total total
Acer 3 748 1 871 1.32
Aesculus 297 730 0.24
Ailanthus 254 0 0.06
Alnus 8 214 4 442 2.97
Ambrosia 19 441 5 812 5.92
Apiaceae 264 52 0.07
Artemisia 7 123 4 261 2.67
Asteraceae 348 221 0.13
Betula 34 199 30 041 15.05
Carpinus 5 585 4 268 2.31
Castanea 503 212 0.17
Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae 4 401 2 200 1.55
Corylus 3 396 2 746 1.44
Cyperaceae 0 606 0.14
Fagus 3 541 1 315 1.14
Fraxinus 17 018 2 316 4.53
Humulus 1 146 70 0.28
Juglans 2 034 2 483 1.06
Larix 32 41 0.02
Pinaceae 22 041 12 734 8.15
Plantago 5 506 2 610 1.90
Platanus 1 249 154 0.33
Poaceae 17 353 8 469 6.05
Populus 27 533 4 553 7.52
Quercus 17 224 2 056 4.52
Rumex 1 487 819 0.54
Salix 4 499 1 370 1.38
Sambucus 2 356 1 874 0.99
Taxaceae/Cupressaceae 19 800 19 104 9.12
Tili a 484 859 0.31
Ulmus 1 606 650 0.53
Urticaceae 55 277 19 854 17.61
Total 287 959 138 793 100
% for Bratislava 67.48 32.52
T a b l e 1. Pollen grain sums of the individual taxa measured at two monitoring stations (U.V.Z., D.B.) during ve
years (2007—2011).
e largest dierence in pollen quantity recorded at the stations mainly involved trees. e
amount of Fraxinus, Populus and Quercus taxa pollen was several times higher at the U.V.Z.
station than at D.B. e opposite situation, in terms of trees, was registered for the, Juglans
and Tilia taxa which provided a higher total quantity of pollen at the D.B. station than at
U.V.Z. e largest dierence in herbaceous taxa was observed in the genus Ambrosia and
Urticaceae families, with signicantly higher levels of pollen measured at the U.V.Z. station
compared to D.B. (Table 1).
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Tax o n U.V.Z D.B.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 % 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 %
Acer 1 494 405 260 414 1 175 1.30 878 331 127 232 303 1.35
Aesculus 37 101 56 33 70 0.10 299 0 213 165 53 0.53
Ailanthus 0 26 131 44 53 0.09 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Alnus 551 716 1 148 3 367 2 432 2.85 656 2 648 90 201 847 3.20
Ambrosia 1 225 3 708 4 793 2 360 7 355 6.75 1 213 802 1 051 703 2 043 4.19
Apiaceae 35 64 105 39 21 0.09 27 0 0 19 6 0.04
Artemisia 838 1 756 1 750 1 163 1 616 2.47 1 004 594 954 602 1 107 3.07
Asteraceae 59 32 138 76 43 0.12 74 20 42 57 28 0.16
Betula 3 783 13 077 2 737 11 094 3 508 11.88 8 226 12 123 1 040 4 499 4 153 21.64
Carpinus 1 668 1 315 438 961 1 203 1.94 1 068 1 711 247 544 698 3.08
Castanea 114 28 211 63 87 0.17 106 0 25 34 47 0.15
Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae 983 875 1 110 420 1 013 1.53 486 375 417 342 580 1.59
Corylus 814 69 955 770 788 1.18 863 611 223 410 639 1.98
Cyperaceae 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 303 303 0 0 0.44
Fagus 372 730 368 94 1 977 1.23 176 122 76 159 782 0.95
Fraxinus 1921 7 118 1 833 1 297 4 849 5.91 530 381 183 274 948 1.67
Humulus 21 119 216 618 172 0.40 3 7 6 19 35 0.05
Juglans 282 315 604 181 652 0.71 636 537 436 300 574 1.79
Larix 4 13 0 6 9 0.01 23 0 0 0 18 0.03
Pinaceae 2 589 3 096 5 943 3 859 6 554 7.65 2 431 2 023 2 189 2 045 4 046 9.17
Plantago 890 1 054 1 343 643 1 576 1.91 425 389 474 540 782 1.88
Platanus 217 102 315 413 202 0.43 29 11 11 46 57 0.11
Poaceae 2 933 3 936 3 614 2 330 4 540 6.03 2 527 1 466 1 087 1 141 2 248 6.10
Populus 2 558 1 587 7 683 10 752 4 953 9.56 1 655 983 225 556 1 134 3.28
Quercus 2 601 2 284 7 164 1 086 4 089 5.98 185 173 74 485 1 139 1.48
Rumex 277 194 265 420 331 0.52 284 131 158 91 155 0.59
Salix 1 046 311 1 294 613 1 235 1.56 620 274 141 32 303 0.99
Sambucus 836 574 145 245 556 0.82 698 465 294 219 198 1.35
Taxaceae-Cupresaceae 2 743 903 5 643 5 228 5 283 6.88 8 179 5 005 1 194 1 534 3 192 13.76
Tili a 102 131 94 69 88 0.17 181 223 223 97 135 0.62
Ulmus 468 162 272 384 320 0.56 72 311 7 120 140 0.47
Urticaceae 4 534 10 742 16 350 5 595 18 056 19.20 5 320 2 513 2 965 3 056 6 000 14.30
Total 35 995 55 543 66 978 54 637 74 806 100.00 38 874 34 532 14 475 18 522 32390 100.00
T a b l e 2. Annual total pollen grain count of all pollen types found in the air of Bratislava (two monitoring stations — U.V.Z., D.B), with percentages, during the
period 2007—2011.
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Fig. 2. Pollen calendar for the 10 pollen types collected in the Bratislava atmosphere and related 10-day means of the
daily mean pollen concentrations.
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Our main focus concentrated on pollen grains from Bratislavan plant species which pro-
duced the strongest pollen allergens (Hrubiško, 1996), and which were most abundant in
this period in the spectrum of the two stations. ese recorded over 2% of the total pollen
grains, and species involved are graphically illustrated in the pollen calendars in Figure 2.
ese comprised the following 10 taxa: Alnus, Betula, Carpinus, Taxaceae, Cupressaceae, Pi-
nus and Populus in trees and/or shrubs, and Ambrosia, Artemisia, Poaceae and Urticaceae in
the herbaceous species.
e highest monthly pollen total in Bratislavan air throughout the monitored period
occurred in April, when the average of the two stations was 13,508. e most signicant con-
tributors to this pollen count were trees; with birch, poplar, oak, ash and hornbeam species
being most prominent. April was clearly the most abundant month in each referenced year
at both stations. ere was one exception to this, where March dominated signicantly at
U.V.Z. in 2010.
Apart from this highest recording for April, all other monthly totals diered at the two
stations. e month with the second highest pollen total at U.V.Z. station was August, with
stinging nettle, ragweed and wormwood pollen grains predominating, while at D.B. this
occurred in May, when the main contributors were pine and grasses. e month with the
third highest pollen total at U.V.Z. station was March; again involving woody plants, but their
presence was more variable depending on the beginning of the pollen season. is mainly
depended on the length of the winter and cold days and the installation of the pollen trap.
At the D.B. station it was August. e month with the lowest pollen total at both stations was
October, when the pollen season ends in Slovakia and pollen grains appear only sporadically.
Overall in Bratislava, the order of months in 2007—2011 with the highest pollen amounts in
descending order was April, August and March,, as depicted in Table 3.
U.V.Z. February March April May June July August September October
2007 800 7 734 12 898 4 935 2 525 2 092 3 444 1 055 75
2008 946 9 625 17 033 7 032 3 756 4 555 8 855 3 101 29
2009 0 6 654 24 236 8 077 3 471 5 434 15 649 1 967 64
2010 598 20 715 14 256 4 895 2 452 2 669 6 442 1 216 33
2011 4 4 149 19 138 9 601 5 475 5 594 16 572 3 895 62
Average 470 9 775 17 512 6 908 3 536 4 069 10 192 2 247 53
D.B. February March April May June July August September October
2007 4 480 6 031 13 836 4 582 1 672 2 234 4 296 898 31
2008 7 183 4 246 14 157 3 453 1 191 1 011 2 204 776 30
2009 0 895 3 787 3 122 1 156 1 289 2 941 950 32
2010 0 2 904 6 255 2 894 1 271 1 501 2 285 924 51
2011 0 781 9 484 5 738 519 513 5 042 1 053 24
Average 2 333 2 971 9 504 3 958 1 162 1 310 3 354 920 34
Bratislava
Average 1 402 6 373 13 508 5 433 2 349 2 690 6 773 1 584 44
T a b l e 3. Monthly sums of pollen grains in the air of Bratislava (two monitoring stations – U.V.Z., D.B.) in years
2007—2011.
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Fig. 3. Daily concentrations of birch pollen grains compared with the percentage of abortive pollen grains per m3
of air in 2009.
From 2009 to 2011, evaluation of abortive birch pollen trapped at the D.B. station was the
centre of focus. In addition to the standard volumetric analysis of pollen and its treatment,
the abortive pollen grains and their proportion of the total amount of trapped pollen were
also examined.
A total concentration of 1,040 birch pollen per m3 of air was recorded in Bratislava in
2009. e birch pollen season began on April 7th that year and lasted until May 3rd, which
accounted for 27 days. e maximum concentration of birch pollen was recorded on 8th
April, when it reached 81 grains, and 27 pollen grains from the total number of birch po-
llen were classied as abortive (3.27% of the total) (Fig. 3). e highest numbers of 7 and 6
abortive pollen grains in 1 m3 of air per day was recorded on April 17th and 22nd, respectively.
Fig. 4. Daily concentrations of birch pollen grains compared with the percentage of abortive pollen grains per m3
of air in 2010.
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A much higher total concentration of 4,499 birch pollen per m3 of air was noted in 2010.
e birch pollen season started on March 31st that year and lasted until April 25th — a total of
26 days. e maximum daily concentration was recorded on April 9th with 727 pollen grains,
and 163 pollen grains from the total number were abortive (3.62% of the total) (Fig. 4). e
highest number of 21 abortive pollen grains in 1 m3 of air was recorded on April 16th.
e year 2011 was special, as the birch pollen season lasted only 14 days that year- appro-
ximately half the two preceding years. It started on April 4th and ended on April 17th. e
annual amount of pollen per m³ of air was 4,152 and the maximum daily concentration of
1,478 grains was measured on April 6th. ere were 156 abortive pollen grains, at 3.52% of the
annual total. Of these, 58 were recorded on April 7th (Fig. 5).
Research into pollen grain abortivity collected directly from the anther catkins of indivi-
duals growing in close proximity to the Botany Department was performed in 2009—2011
and results are recorded in Table 4.
e observed values of pollen abortivity from the pollen trap and from individual catkins
are compared in the Fig. 6.
e nal part of this work involved evaluation of the pollen abortivity of Pinus sylvestris
L. in various Bratislavan locations in 2009—2011 (Table 5). Here, potential pollution was
presumed to be due to transport and industrial emissions. Simultaneously, induction factors
were determined for these localities over this 3 year period. is was achieved by comparing
the percentage of abortive pollen grains at the polluted site with that at the control site (Fig.
7).
e highest abortivity values of pollen species compared to the reference sample was re-
corded at the Bratislavan Istrochem locality in 2010. is value was almost four times higher
than the reference sample value. On average, the lowest values of the monitored sites were
measured in the Bratislavan suburb of Rača. Induction ecogenotoxicity factors in dierent
Fig. 5. Daily concentrations of birch pollen grains compared with the percentage of abortive pollen grains per m3
of air in 2011.
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Year Number of evaluated pollen grains Abortivity in %
2009 1 000 4.2 ± 0.3
2010 1 000 5.9 ± 0.6
2011 1 000 4.7 ± 0.2
Abortivity in %
Locality 2009 2010 2011
City incinerator 6.4 7.1 7.2
Slovna 6.8 6.5 6.7
Istrochem 10.5 12.1 9.8
Mlynská dolina 6.2 8.7 8.6
Rača 6.1 6.4 6.3
Petržalka 7.6 7.3 7.8
Control 3.2 3.4 3.1
T a b l e 4. Abortivity of birch pollen grains from the aglets of individuals growing in proximity of the Department
of Botany during the years 2009—2011.
T a b l e 5. Pollen abortivity of Pinus sylvestris at sampling sites in Bratislava during the years 2009—2011.
Fig. 6. Comparison abortivity birch pollen measured in pollen trap samples and anther samples in the years 2009—
2011 at the Department of Botany.
city areas uctuated, ranging from 1.7 to 2.9. A similar situation was found in the abortivity
of Pinus sylvestris L ., where the highest induction factor values were measured at Istrochem
and the lowest at Rača.
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49
Discussion
With the exception of the 2007, the annual amounts of pollen grains in the atmosphere of
Bratislava were signicantly higher at the U.V.Z. station than at D.B station in the monitored
years. During the ve year experimental period, 287,959 pollen grains were recorded at the
U.V.Z. station; 149,166 more than at D.B. e highest number of 74, 806 was recorded in
2011 at the U.V.Z. station and the 14,475 minimum in 2008 at D.B. Pollen grains were recor-
ded from 32 higher plant taxa, consisting of 21 trees and shrubs and 11 herbaceous species.
Pollen produced from trees and shrubs comprised 70% of the total at the U.V.Z. station,
and the remaining 30% came from herbal allergens. At the D.B. station, pollen grains from
trees and shrubs made up 64% of the total, with the other 36% emanating from herbs. e
higher levels of tree pollen are due to trees generally producing more pollen than herbs and
also because species diversity of trees in the vicinity of the two monitoring stations is greater
than than the diversity of herbs. On average, the most abundant pollen grains in the atmo-
sphere of Bratislava at both stations in the rst four years of the study period were from; the
Urticaceae family (17.61%), followed by the genus Betula (15.05%), Taxaceae, Cupressaceae
Fig. 7. Induction factor of ecogenotoxicity at sampling sites in Bratislava.
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50
(9.12%), Pinaceae (8.15%), Populus (7.52%), Poaceae (6.05%) and Ambrosia (5.92%). In 2011,
this sequence varied greatly from that reported by Ščevková et al. (2010), mainly due to the
high pollen production of the Urticaceae family, rather than an increase in the abundance
produced by the genus Betula.
e highest annual tree pollen totals were observed in the genus Betula, where several
authors reported a two year alternating period of high and low pollen production (Nilsson,
Persson, 1981; Atkinson, Larsson, 1990; Ščevková et al., 2010). Although this was conrmed
by our observations, our 5 year experimental period is too short to postulate a denitive
argument.
e plants with the longest pollen season,,were species of the Urticaceae family with an
annual average of 125 days. is family has two species in Bratislava: Urtica dioica and Pa-
rietaria ocinalis, and these species recorded the most abundant pollen of all herbaceous
species examined in Bratislava.
Data from the U.V.Z. station can be compared with data measured by Zlinská (1996) in
1994—1995. is was the rst monitoring of pollen grains in the atmosphere of Bratislava,
garnered from a volumetric pollen trap in the north-eastern part of the city close to the U.
V.Z. station. Her data suggests the greatest abundance of Urticaceae, Poaceae and Artemisia
pollen in these two monitored years. Compared to our data, the abundance of Betula and
Taxaceae—Cupressaceae pollen was surprisingly low, while the quantity of pollen of the ge-
nus Rumex in 1994 and Plantago in 1995 was signicantly higher than our measured data.
Zlinská (1996) lists August as the month with the highest totals of pollen grains during these
monitored years. In contradistinction, our highest totals of pollen grains occurred each Ap-
ril, and this agrees with Ščevková et al (2010).
e dierences in the quantity of pollen grains between the two pollen stations in Brati-
slava during the same time period may be due to several factors. One of these is certainly the
composition of the close vegetation and built-up area, because the pollen traps were placed
in dierent biotopes in the city. No phyto-geographic research was performed in the north-
-western part of the city, where the D.B. monitoring station is situated. In the city area of
Bratislava-Ostredky, where the U.V.Z. station is situated, a survey of allergenic higher plant
species was carried out by Bartková (2000). e allergenic potential of this city area was
evaluated based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis. A medium to high allergenic
potential was detected in 11 of the total 18 map squares, and 184 plant species producing
allergenic pollen were detected.
Another factor inuencing the dierences in the quantity of pollen grains in the atmo-
sphere is the dierence in microclimatic conditions at the individual stations. Data from the
Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute (SHMÚ) suggests that precipitation was higher in the
proximity of the D.B. station compared to the U.V.Z. station in each monitored year, with a
dierence of 156 mm per year. e temperature was higher at the U.V.Z. station, so this com-
bined higher temperature and lower precipitation could have inuenced the higher values of
pollen grains measured at the U.V.Z. station.
e dierences in pollen quantity between the two stations may also have been due to the
two dierent evaluation methods used. Cariñanos et al. (2000) compared the two methods
used in our study, and found that the four longitudinal transect method used at the U.V.Z.
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51
station yielded slightly higher results of daily pollen concentration than the 12-traverse tran-
sect methodology at the D.B. station. erefore, this may have have been one reason for the
dierences recorded at these stations. It is also necessary to consider human factors which
may have signicantly inuenced the nal values of the measured pollen grains. Dierent
researchers worked with Pollen Information Service (PIS) at Botany in 2008 to those who
evaluated the pollen spectrum at the U.V.Z. station from its commencement in 2007. ere-
fore individual interpretation of samples and results by dierent researchers remains very
important.
When our results are compared with the unpublished data of Mičieta and Chrenová in
2003—2004, it is clear that the abundance of abortive birch pollen caught in our pollen trap
did not change signicantly over the ve years research period, while their data registered
3.5–4.3% of the total birch pollen. e highest abortivity of birch pollen grains taken directly
from the anthers of birch catkins was recorded at 5.9% in 2010 and the lowest was 4.2% in
2009, and these values correspond to the pollen trap data. Each value is approximately 1%
higher than the values from the pollen trap, except in 2010 when it was over 2% higher. ese
dierences are not signicant; therefore birch appears a suitable indicator of ecogenotoxicity
in Bratislava, from both measuring the abortive pollen in the trap and measuring it directly
in anthers. e monitoring abortivity of the pollen grains caught in the pollen traps serves as
a supplementary method for determining ecogenotoxicity in the atmosphere. e procedure
involved is simple, suitable for long-term observation and also for determining acute pollu-
tion (Mičieta, 2010). It provides precise indication parameters in specic regions. However,
future research is needed to completely verify this methodology.
e genus Pinus sylvestris L., was utilized to compare and evaluate ecogenotoxicity and
mutagenity in the chosen Bratislavan localities, to verify the eectiveness of the test in the
dierent city areas and to indicate eective use of urban vegetation. e results highlighted
the increased ecogenotoxicity in all studied localities, thus corresponding with the data of
Mičieta et al. (2008), who also reported the highest abortivity of this species in the proximity
of Istrochem. e success of the genus Pinus in phytoindication of pollution in biological
systems was therefore proven, and the induction index enables regular monitoring of the
air in Bratislava.
Conclusion
In this study, we compared the results of the aeropalynological research of two independent
pollen stations (U.V.Z. and D.B.), localized in dierent parts of Bratislava during the ve
year period of 2007—2011. e annual total pollen was considerably higher at the U.V.Z.
station each year except for 2007. e ve-year total pollen was twice as high at the U.V.Z.
station than at D.B. e Urticaceae family accounted for the highest amount of pollen, and
the month of April had the highest yield. In addition, Urticaceae family species also had the
longest pollen season of all studied taxa.
Observed dierences may be due to the following factors,or to a combination of them;
(1) the considerably dierent habitats in the proximity of the stations (2) dierent microc-
limatic conditions, (3) the dierent evaluation methods, and (4) the human factor, due to
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52
individual researcher’s interpretation of samples and results. It is evident from this study
that increased density of monitoring stations in a region will provide more accurate data
concerning the pollen in the atmosphere, and therfore enable more eective prevention of
pollen allergies in these areas.
e methods used for evaluation of the abortivity of airborne pollen are operationally
simple and nancially accessible, suitable for long-term monitoring and also for emergencies
such as accidents and acute cases of air and environmental pollution. ey provide precise
indicative parameters which signal critical changes in the environment with sucient speed
and accuracy for practical measures to be implemented to minimize negative environmental
impacts, especially where genotoxic danger is involved., eir reliability also enables rapid
evaluation of perspectives for biota in the critical area. e employed methods enable mo-
nitoring of ecogenotoxicity in the air, soil and water in an area’s actual ecological and envi-
ronmental complex. Moreover, results obtained by this methodology can be extrapolated to
quickly assess human risk factors (Mičieta et al., 2003).
Translated by the authors
English corrected by R. Marshall
Acknowledgements
e study was supported by VEGA grant No. 1/0380/13.68/10 and 2/0041/13.
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