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Airborne pollen is one of the main causative agents of allergic rhinitis in cities all over the world. Pollen concentrations may vary throughout the day, not being equal in all the points of the city, due to these concentrations are influenced by the presence of nearby pollen emission sources. Knowledge about the influence of these sources is of great interest to allergy sufferers when planning outdoor activities. The aim of this study was to analyse the intradiurnal variation patterns of the airborne pollen concentration both in the city centre and on the outskirts of Malaga as well as quantify the detected differences and establish the influence of the pollen emission sources present in the nearby areas. The aerobiological data were obtained by means of two Hirst-type volumetric pollen traps. One of them was installed on the rooftop of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaga (outskirts) and the other in the city centre. The study was carried out during the years 2017-2019, with the most relevant pollen types being considered. Despite the two sampling points being only 5 km apart, notable variations were detected in the intradiurnal patterns of some pollen types because of the location of the nearby pollen emission sources. This reflects the need to conduct aerobiological sampling in several points of the same city in order to obtain more precise and useful information for the allergic population. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.

Pollen calendars are graphical representations that summarize the general annual dynamics of the more abundant airborne pollen types detected in the atmosphere of a certain location. To elaborate them, it is recommended to have continuous pollen sampling data from a period of, at least, 5 years in order to such pollen calendar be representative. However, the annual pollen dynamics can suffer changes in a medium or long term due to climate and land use changes, so the pollen calendars can therefore, show variations over time. The aim of this study was to detect whether or not changes have occurred in the pollen calendar of Malaga city during a 30-year period, as well as to analyze their possible causes. The aerobiological data were obtained by means of a Hirst-type volumetric pollen trap installed on the roof of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaga. Pollen samples were mounted and counted following the methodology proposed by the Spanish Aerobiology Network. A pollen calendar was elaborated for each 10-year period using the AeRobiology R package. Despite the three pollen calendars obtained were elaborated for the same sampling location, there were some important changes in the intensity and temporality of the airborne concentrations detected for some pollen types. These changes can be related to variations in the land uses near the city and temperature variations due to climate change. Pollen calendars should be updated along time in order to maintain their utility, given that it is possible to find some trends in the temporality and intensity of the pollen season of some taxa that can modify substantially this graphical representation. This work was partially financed by the University of Malaga Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain and FEDER fundings inside the Operational Plurirregional Program of Spain 2014-2020, and the Operational Program of Smart Growing (Project Environmental and Biodiversity Climate Change Lab, EnBiC2-Lab). A. Picornell was supported by a postdoctoral grant financed by the Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities of the Junta de Andalucía (POSTDOC_21_00056).

An aerobiological sampler covers the pollen information of a determined area, whose extension mainly depends on the topography of the territory but, in a city, buildings are the elements that obstruct and re-distribute winds as well as the particles suspended in the air. This is the reason for what several pollen traps are often needed for covering the information in a big city. Malaga is one of the biggest cities in Spain with a population of more than 600,000 inhabitants. In 1991 a Hirst-type pollen trap was installed in the northwest part of the city (Malaga-Teatinos station), which have been kept operational until nowadays. Additionally, in 2017, a second device (Malaga-Centre station) was installed in the very city centre, 4 km apart from the first. The aim of this work is to search whether or not there are significant differences between the results obtained in the two locations. For that, the samples obtained were mounted and counted following the methodology proposed by the Spanish Aerobiology Network (REA) and the pollen concentrations expressed as number of pollen grains/m3 of air (daily mean). Results indicate that pollen spectra are quite similar in both sampling stations. However, we found important differences in the annual amount of pollen recorded, regarding some of the more abundant pollen types in the city, Amaranthaceae, Olea europaea, Plantago and Quercus being much more abundant in Malaga-Teatinos, with annual pollen indexes that sometimes triple the obtained in Malaga-Centre. On the contrary, Pinus and Parietaria reach higher values in Malaga-Centre, especially the last one, with annual pollen index almost four times highest than the obtained in Malaga-Teatinos. Phenology was quite similar in the case of almost all the pollen types with scarce differences in the case of Olea and Parietaria. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.

One of the most cosmopolitan fungal spore types present in the air is that belonging to Alternaria. This spore type has been proved to have a negative impact on sensible population. Furthermore, Alternaria species are phytopathogens that cause high economic losses in agriculture. The aim of this study was to establish relationships between the airborne concentrations of Alternaria spores and the meteorological and climatic variables of the studied areas, as well as land use. For that, an aerobiological study has been carried out during 2018 in three sampling sites: a coastal urban city (Malaga), an inland rural city with high influence of crops and natural areas (Ronda), and a third site located inside a Natural Park (Sierra de las Nieves). The samplings were carried out by means of three Hirst-type volumetric pollen traps, and the samples obtained were mounted and counted following the methodology proposed by the Spanish Aerobiology Network (REA). Statistical analysis was carried out by using R software and ”AeRobiology” package. Negative and significant Spearman correlations were found between daily values of Alternaria spore concentration and precipitation as well as relative humidity in all the sampling sites, while positive and significant correlations were found with temperatures (the highest with maximum temperature). Alternaria daily concentrations showed significant differences between stations. As the results obtained by other authors, regarding the climatic parameters, we find a direct relationship between the continentality index and the total amount of Alternaria spores detected during spring and summer in the different sampling stations. Similar results were obtained with average annual temperature and total annual rainfalls. Regarding land use, the highest concentrations were obtained in the rural locality of Ronda. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.

Ronda is located in a rural area close to the natural Parks Sierra de Grazalema and Sierra de las Nieves, surrounded by crops, natural and seminatural vegetation. The Genal Valley, which is located at the southwest of Ronda, is the biggest Castanea sativa Mill. crop area in Andalusia (South Spain) but there are also others C. sativa crops in different areas close to Ronda. This increases the Castanea atmospheric pollen levels in Ronda, the highest of Malaga province. Castanea pollen has been cited by different authors as potentially allergenic. The objective of this preliminary study was to determine the main sources of Castanea pollen detected in Ronda during the period in which the highest concentrations were detected along the year 2017. The pollen samplings were made by means of a Hirst-type volumetric pollen trap. The samples obtained were mounted and counted according to the methodology proposed by the Spanish Aerobiology Network (REA). Backward air trajectories were calculated according to HYSPLIT 4 model. Models were run five times a day by using R software for the whole month of June 2017. Due to the wind dynamics in Ronda, the main source of Castanea airborne pollen was not the expected (the Genal Valley). The dominant winds in June 2017 came from the southeast of Ronda and brought Castanea pollen from the crops of two nearby localities, Istan and Ojen, which are widely smaller than those situated in the Genal Valley. Therefore, due to the high pollen production of these crops, predictive models for the Castanea airborne pollen in Ronda should be done in future researches in order to prevent allergic diseases in the population. Additionally, by studing air trajectory models, the cross pollination between Castanea populations in the area can be estimated. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.

Resumen del comportamiento de las partículas aerovagantes (polen) en la atmósfera de Málaga durante el año 2013 Continuando con los estudios aerobiológicos realizados en años anteriores, en este trabajo se presenta los resultados obtenidos durante el año 2013 en la ciudad de Málaga. Se analiza el comportamiento seguido por los principales tipos polínicos así como por el polen total. La estación aerobiológica de Málaga continuó siendo la más meridional de Europa durante este año de estudio, estando el punto de muestreo ubicado en el mismo lugar desde que se iniciara el muestreo en Mayo de 1991 (Campus Universitario de Teatinos, aproximadamente 1 km al oeste de la ciudad). Climatológicamente, según datos de la estación meteorológica del Aeropuerto de Málaga (5 Km al oeste del Campus de Teatinos) la temperatura media anual en el 2013 fue similar a la media de los últimos años (18,5ºC). Pluviométricamente, se registraron valores inferiores a la media (434,8 mm). En el año 2013 se registró un índice polínico anual de 27.648 granos de polen. Los ocho tipos polínicos que mayor incidencia tuvieron en la atmósfera de Málaga durante este año de estudio fueron los mismos que en años anteriores, aunque variaron ligeramente en el orden de abundancia: Olea, Quercus, Cupressaceae, Poaceae, Plantago, Urticaceae, Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae y Pinus. Los tres primeros puestos lo ocuparon pólenes de especies arbóreas (Olea, Cupressaceae y Quercus) y los cuatro siguientes polen de especies herbáceas (Poaceae, Plantago, Urticaceae y Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae). El conjunto de polen de Olea, Quercus y Cupresaceae constituyeron aproximadamente el 67,7% anual, y el conjunto del de estas herbáceas el 22%, aproximadamente, estando representado el resto por diversos tipos polínicos menos abundante, hasta completar un total de 35. En la curva de evolución de las concentraciones semanales de polen total a lo largo del año de estudio podemos observar que los picos se produjeron fueron debidos fundamentalmente al polen de Cupressaceae (marzo) al polen de Quercus a finales de abril y principios de mayo, y a Poaceae y Olea en mayo. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Con los datos obtenidos, se ha observado que la temperatura media y precipitación total anual del área de estudio se han visto alteradas en los últimos treinta años como consecuencia del cambio climático. Dado que las condiciones climáticas y meteorológicas influencian la cantidad y temporalidad del polen y esporas detectadas, es esperable que se vean afectadas por el cambio climático. Las diferencias observadas entre los puntos de muestreo a escalas estacional, diaria e intradiaria se deben principalmente a la vegetación, el uso del suelo y la dinámica de vientos de la zona. Los modelos predictivos y de interpolación espacial elaborados permiten maximizar los beneficios del muestreo aerobiológico y elaborar informes del contenido polínico de la atmósfera para alertar a la población alérgica de toda la provincia de Málaga. Las herramientas computacionales elaboradas permiten reducir el tiempo requerido para la gestión y visualización de datos aerobiológicos. Ronda es una de las principales ciudades del interior de la provincia de Málaga (sur de España) y se encuentra sobre una meseta rodeada por cordilleras. Entre las más cercanas se encuentra el Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves, actualmente en vía de ser declarado Parque Nacional. A través del estudio del contenido polínico y de esporas de la atmósfera, se puede obtener información sobre el comportamiento reproductivo de las poblaciones vegetales y de hongos de la zona, lo que resulta indispensable para su gestión y conservación, y para la prevención de alergias respiratorias en las poblaciones cercanas. Se muestreó la atmósfera de la ciudad de Ronda y del Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves ininterrumpidamente durante 3 y 2 años respectivamente. También se realizó un seguimiento in situ de la fenofase de floración de las principales especies anemófilas de la zona. Con los resultados obtenidos se estudió el comportamiento aerobiológico de ambas localidades, se determinaron los taxones de mayor incidencia en la atmósfera, su variación temporal (estacional, intradiaria e interanual) y se compararon los comportamientos de ambas zonas estudiadas. Se elaboraron calendarios polínicos, se estudió la relación existente entre el polen atmosférico y variables meteorológicas, climáticas, datos de fenología in situ, de vegetación real y uso del suelo. También se elaboraron modelos de pronóstico y de interpolación espacial de datos aerobiológicos, y se desarrolló un paquete de herramientas computacionales para automatizar las principales funciones que se realizan en la investigación aerobiológica y para interpolar datos ausentes. De forma complementaria se estudió la tendencia de las principales variables climáticas para determinar el efecto del cambio climático en la zona de estudio.