Airborne pollen content of Kuşadası

Abstract

Atmospheric pollen grains of Kusadasi were captured using Durham samplers and investigated in 2005. The total number of pollen grains and the pollen grains/cm(2) were calculated from slides that were changed weekly. During the study period a total of 12,980 pollen grains/cm(2) belonging to 44 identified taxa and unidentified pollen grains were recorded at 2 stations. At the first station (Si), 7346 pollen grains were counted per cm(2), while only 5634 pollen grains were counted at the second station (S2). The majority of the investigated pollen grains were from Olea europaea L. (34.46%), Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (30.04%), Pinus spp. (19.71%), Platanus spp. (4.41%), Poaceae (3.70%), and Mortis spp. (1.22%). In addition, 41.22% of the annual pollen index was captured in May. According to our results, seasonal pollen durations for the predominant pollen grains in Kusadasi were as follows: nearly the whole year for Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Pinus spp., and Poaceae; March-September (between the 17th and 35th weeks) for Olea europaea; March-May (between the 11th and 21st weeks) for Platanus spp.; and March-April (between the 11th and 17th weeks) for Morus spp.