Annual, daily and intradiurnal variation of <i>Celtis</i> pollen in the city of La Plata, Argentina

Abstract

The behaviour of <i>Celtis</i> airborne pollen was studied for a period of three years (1998–2000) in the city of La Plata. The pollen grains were captured with a Lanzoni trap and the maximum pollination period was observed to occur during the end of winter and spring in the three years. The annual values of pollen concentration varied, and a significant decrease was observed during 2000. The greatest airborne pollen record was in October with an average of 82.3% in relation to its total concentration during 1998–2000. Based on the intradiurnal behaviour analysis, it was observed that the maximum pollination peak occurs at 2H when the temperature reaches its maximum values. Considering the three sampling years, the meteorological variables that most influenced the processes of pollen emission, dispersion and transportation in the atmosphere were: maximum and minimum temperature and rainfall.