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The Asteraceae family is one of the largest families, comprising 67 genera and 264 species in Poland. However, only a few genera, including Artemisia and Ambrosia are potential allergenic sources. The aim of the study was to estimate how often and to what degree Artemisia and Ambrosia pollen seasons co-occur intensifying human health risk, and how synoptic situations influence frequency of days with high pollen concentrations of both taxa. Artemisia and Ambrosia pollen data were collected, using the volumetric method, at 8 sites in Poland. Daily concentrations of Artemisia pollen equal to 30 grains or more and Ambrosia pollen equal to 10 grains or more were accepted as high values. Concentrations of more than 10 pollen grains were defined as high in the case of Ambrosia because its allergenicity is considered higher. High concentrations were confronted with synoptic situations. Analysis was performed on the basis of two calendars on circulation types of atmosphere in Poland (Niedźwiedź, 2006, 2015). Co-occurrence of Artemisia and Ambrosia pollen seasons is being found most often, when Ambrosia pollen season starts in the first half of August. If it happens in the last 10 days of August high pollen concentrations of Artemisia and Ambrosia do not occur at the same days. At three sites (Sosnowiec, Rzeszow, Lublin) high Ambrosia pollen concentrations during the Artemisia pollen season appear more often than in other sites under question. The high Artemisia pollen concentrations occur, when continental or polar maritime old air masses inflow into Poland. The impact of air masses on high Ambrosia pollen concentrations depends on site localizations. It is likely, that in the south-eastern part of Poland high Ambrosia pollen concentrations result from the pollen transport from east-south-south-westerly directions and the local sources. Co-occurrence of both taxa pollen seasons depends on the air masses inflow and appears more often in a south-eastern part of Poland.

Introduction [b][/b][b]Background. [/b][i][/b]Ambrosia artemisiifolia[/i] L. is a noxious invasive alien species in Europe. It is an important aeroallergen and millions of people are exposed to its pollen. Objective The main aim of this study is to show that atmospheric concentrations of [i]Ambrosia[/i] pollen recorded in Denmark can be derived from local or more distant sources. Methods This was achieved by using a combination of pollen measurements, air mass trajectory calculations using the HYPLIT model and mapping all known Ambrosia locations in Denmark and relating them to land cover types. Results The annual pollen index recorded in Copenhagen during a 15-year period varied from a few pollen grains to more than 100. Since 2005, small quantities of Ambrosia pollen has been observed in the air every year. We have demonstrated, through a combination of Lagrangian back-trajectory calculations and atmospheric pollen measurements, that pollen arrived in Denmark via long-distance transport from centres of Ambrosia infection, such as the Pannonian Plain and Ukraine. Combining observations with results from a local scale dispersion model show that it is possible that Ambrosia pollen could be derived from local sources identified within Denmark. Conclusions The high allergenic capacity of Ambrosia pollen means that only small amounts of pollen are relevant for allergy sufferers, and just a few plants will be sufficient to produce enough pollen to affect pollen allergy sufferers within a short distance from the source. It is necessary to adopt control measures to restrict Ambrosia numbers. Recommendations for the removal of all Ambrosia plants can effectively reduce the amount of local pollen, as long as the population of Ambrosia plants is small.

The Pannonian Plain (PP) and parts of France are the largest sources of airborne ragweed pollen in Europe. Atmospheric transport of airborne ragweed pollen within and from these regions can be investigated using atmospheric transport models. The performance of such models is sensitive to the quality of the emissions data. This study aims to: (1) produce a simple methodology for calculating high quality source inventories for airborne ragweed pollen ; (2) propose a methodology for quality assessment ; (3) provide data that are ready to be used by atmospheric transport models. The applied methodology combines spatial variations in annual Ambrosia airborne pollen counts (indicator of abundance), knowledge of ragweed ecology (indicator of habitat) and detailed land cover information for the PP and France. Compared to the PP, France could be considered heterogenous with the respect of ecological regions and topography. As a result, the French inventory required additional information about of potential growth habitats such as an elevation filter. In the PP, the gridded species inventory shows that the most infected areas are found to the south as well as two smaller "hot-spots" to the east and west. The most infected areas in France are found in the Rhone valley, e.g. near Roussillon, but notable infection is also found in the Loire valley, particularly near Nevers. Such inventories identify areas of potential growth habitats that are not presently infected by ragweed and highlight the importance of understanding ragweed ecology and local preferred growth habitats and to continue pollen- monitoring in order to investigate expansions in range.

Ambrosia (ragweed) is a major threat to human health and agriculture. In Europe Ambrosia is considered invasive and limiting the spread has until now failed. How the pollen load of ragweed is distributed geographically remains unexplained. We have applied the Integrated Approach (IA) where a suite of methods are used to show how the Pannonian Plain (PP) acts as a prime source of Ambrosia pollen not only locally but on the regional scale.

W pracy porównano dynamikę sezonów pyłkowych leszczyny w 11 miastach Polski położonych w różnych rejonach klimatycznych. Zastosowano metodę wolumetryczną. Sezony pyłkowe wyznaczono metodami procentowymi: 98% i 90%. Początek sezonów pyłkowych mieści się w zakresie zmienności tej cechy dla terenu Polski. Największa różnica wystąpiła między Szczecinem a Białymstokiem (miesiąc). Stwierdzono duże zsynchronizowanie terminów maksymalnych stężeń, jak również zsynchronizowanie przebiegu sezonów pyłkowych między np. Krakowem a Lublinem oraz Krakowem a Szczecinem. W wielu miastach stwierdzono wyraźny spadek stężeń w okresie 22–25 marca. The patterns of hazel pollen seasons were compared. The study was carried out in 11 towns located in different climatic regions. Volumetric method was used. Pollen seasons were defined by percentage methods: 98% and 90%. The terms of the start of pollen season do not differ from the Polish standard. The season stared first in Szczecin, month later in Białystok. High synchronization of the peak dates and the patterns of pollen seasons were noted between Kraków and Lublin and also Kraków and Szczecin. In many cities pollen concentrations decreased in the period of 22–25 March.

Praca przedstawia przebieg sezonu pylenia traw w roku 2007 w Białymstoku, Bydgoszczy, Krakowie, Lublinie, Łodzi, Rzeszowie, Sosnowcu, Szczecinie, Warszawie i we Wrocławiu. Badania prowadzono metodą objętościową przy zastosowaniu aparatów typu Burkard i Lanzoni. Sezon pyłkowy wyznaczono metodą 98%. Najwcześniej pyłek traw zarejestrowano we Wrocławiu i w Krakowie (20, 30 kwietnia), najpóźniej w Białymstoku (13 maja). Największą maksymalną koncentrację pyłku zanotowano w Łodzi (513 ziaren/m3), najniższą w Krakowie (106 ziaren/m3). Okres maksymalnych stężeń pyłku traw rejestrowano między 29 maja i 21 czerwca. This paper presents the curse of grass pollination seasons in the cities Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Rzeszów, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warszawa and Wrocław in 2007. Measurements were performed by the volumetric method with the use of a Burkard and Lanzoni Spore Trap. The duration of the pollen seasons was defined as the period in which 98 % of the annual total catch occurred. The pollen seasons of grass started first in Wrocław and Kraków (20, 30 April), the latest in Białystok (13 May). The highest concentration of pollen grains was noted in Łódź (513 z/m3), the lowest in Kraków (106 z/m3). The period of the maximum concentrations was recorded in 29 May and the off 21 June.