| Abstract [eng] |
City’s green spaces are potential recreational areas for the city's population, but the pollen produced from urban flora to a large extent contributes to the amount of airborne allergens and has a significant negative impact on human health. The aim of the study was to evaluate the distribution and charge of anemophilic pollen in the air of Šiauliai city. In order to achieve this goal, the following tasks were set up: to analyze the dynamics of the pollen recorded at the Šiauliai aerobiology station and to identify the pollen in the green spaces of the city and to carry out their abundance analysis; to assess the representativeness of different methods and significance of their use; to identify the most pollen-polluted urban areas and submit substantiated proposals to reduce the allergenic potential of green spaces. The work was carried out in 2017-2018 in Šiauliai city and Šiauliai University. Coriolis sampler was used to capture pollen and sample analysis was performed according to Carvalho E., et al., 2008; Gomez-Domenech M., et al. 2010. Hirst sampler was used according to the requirements of the International Association of Aerobiologists. The comparison of pollen collected and identified by different samplers is given per m3 of air. The calculated Student t test (p> 0.05) aimed to determine the meanings of two independent groups. After analyzing the dynamics of the pollen recorded at the Šiauliai aerobic station, it was found that in 2018 poaceae plant pollen stayed in the air for the longest time in Šiauliai. During the study period, from lignified plants analyzed, pollen of pinaceae (776 pollen/m3 air) and pollen from grass plants – urtica (758 pollen/m3 air), poaceae (657 pollen/m3 air) were detected. 7 species of pollen were identified in the samples collected by Coriolis sampler: artemisia, betula, poaceae, pinaceae, chenopodium, tilia and urtica. The largest amounts of pollen were collected during the 1st–3rd sampling. Poaceae plant pollen has been recorded at most during the study. This pollen content was 46 % throughout the study period (708 pollen) in the total of recorded pollen. Created pollen abundance maps show the possible trends in pollinator load in the city. During the flowering season of herbaceous plants, individuals who are sensitive to pollen allergens should avoid visiting the northern and northwest parts of the city, and municipal officials responsible for maintenance of public green areas should carry out more often and regular grass cutting in these urban areas. The calculated Student's t-test (p> 0.05) showed that the difference between the pollen number detected by Hirst and Coriolis samplers is negligible, i.e. the pollen content in Hirst and Coriolis samplers is similar throughout the study period. |
