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Urban Ecosystems

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10-08-2022

Fern spores: neglected airborne bioparticles threatening human health in urban environments

Authors: Jana Ščevková, Zuzana Vašková, Jozef Dušička, Michal Hrabovský

Published in: Urban Ecosystems | Issue 6/2022

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Abstract

Temporal variation of airborne fern spore concentrations in Bratislava during the three years (2019‒2021) was studied using a Hirst-type aerospore sampler. Fern spores were frequently present in the air but at low concentrations. The total annual spore concentration recorded was 523 spores/m³, belonging to eight spore types of fern plants (Asplenium sp., Athyrium sp., Botrychium sp., Cystopteris sp., Dryopteris sp., Matteuccia struthiopteris and Polypodium sp. of ferns and Equisetum sp. of horsetails). The taxa contributing the highest spore concentration were Dryopteris (52% of the total; mean value for the three analysed years) and Athyrium (26% of the total). Species of these two genera are abundant in the fragments of natural woodland within the city. The season period from July to August shows the most intense airborne spore dispersal process in each analysed year. Although the average daily spore concentration did not exceed 1 spore/m³ during the period analysed, we recorded values of up to 15 spores/m³ on several days. Since fern spores are one of the allergenic airborne bioparticles, it is assumed that their inhalation at this concentration may already induce inhalation allergy symptoms in sensitive individuals. The relationships between selected weather variables and mean daily fern spore concentrations for Dryopteris and Athyrium were evaluated through Spearman’s correlation test. The spore concentrations were positively associated with air temperature and/or sunshine and negatively with relative air humidity.

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Title: Fern spores: neglected airborne bioparticles threatening human health in urban environments
Authors: Jana Ščevková
Zuzana Vašková
Jozef Dušička
Michal Hrabovský
Publication date: 10-08-2022
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Urban Ecosystems / Issue 6/2022
Print ISSN: 1083-8155
Electronic ISSN: 1573-1642
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-022-01263-2

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