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The palynoflora from the Lavanttal Basin is characterised by a diverse spectrum of conifers. Their pollen is mostly well preserved allowing for high taxonomic resolution. Most coniferous taxa belong to the Pinaceae (Abies, Cathaya, Cedrus, Keteleeria, Larix, Picea, Pinus and Tsuga) and the Cupressaceae (Cryptomeria, Glyptostrobus and Sequoia), but pollen of Sciadopityaceae (Sciadopitys) is also occuring. The presence of these conifer taxa supports previous suggestions based on sedimentological and palynological observations that the sediments of the Lavanttal Basin accumulated in a lowland/wetland environment. Many of the taxa described in this paper had a wide, mostly Northern Hemispheric distribution, occupying swamps, river plains, deltas, hummocks and also better drained habitats located near to the main areas of sedimentation during most of the Cenozoic. Modern relatives of most of the fossil taxa prefer ample precipitation, suggesting that during the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian), the Lavantta...

It is difficult to reliably distinguish Betula species solely on pollen morphological criteria. Size differences between the pollen of different Betula species have proved to provide a basis for their separation. Pollen grain size is affected by both sedimentary environment and laboratory treatment. Only grains from similar sediment lithologies that have had identical laboratory treatment can be considered comparable in size with each other. A simple size comparison between modern and fossil pollen is not advisable. In this paper previous methods for the separation of birch pollen types are reviewed and some new measurements of the Finnish birch species are presented and discussed.

Fungal spores and pollens can be dispersed in a number of ways: by animals and insects; by water; by wind or by rain. This paper concentrates on the effects of wind on the dispersal of spores and pollen grains and the effects of rain on spore dispersal. For dispersal to be successful particles must complete three phases: removal, dispersal through the air and deposition. The biology of the organism and its environment can affect all three phases, however, once released the fate of all airborne particles largely depends on the laws of physics which govern the motion of the air. Many types of spore are actively ejected into the air while others are simply blown from the host surface. Particle size and shape affects dispersal and deposition phases. Local environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and light, as well as wind or rain, can play a key role in the removal of spores. Wind speed and turbulence or rainfall, largely determine spore dispersal, but, the size and shape of the particle, ...

This paper describes a pollen survey from Turin based on 25 taxa of interest. The survey took place between 1981 to 1988 recording pollen types and amounts. Pollen was collected using a Hirst spore trap. A pollen calendar was constructed using 10 day means: aerosporological data were then compared to the urban vegetation and flora. Pollen distribution was analysed in relation to temperature, calculated as the taxon's yearly specific temperature sum. The situation in Turin was then compared to other central European and Mediterranean stations: results were found to be more comparable with the former.

The present paper deals with the results of continuous aeropalynological survey of the atmosphere at Bangalore carried out for the past six years. The aeropalynological survey was conducted by trapping airborne bioparticles such as pollen and fungal spores by operating vertical cylinder pollen traps. The traps were installed at different ecogeographical sites in Bangalore City. The results of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the atmospheric biopollutants are correlated with the meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and cloud cover. It is seen that generally the higher temperature and lower relative humidity enhance the liberation and distribution of pollen in the atmosphere; whereas the higher humidity and lower temperatures trigger the liberation and distribution of fungal spores in the atmosphere. Atmospheric pollen count is drastically reduced during the rainfall.